The Indian Health Service has selected three tribal health organizations for the agency’s first-ever Long-Term Care Joint Venture Construction Program projects, marking a new federal effort to expand skilled nursing and elder care capacity in Indian Country.
The selections, announced April 29, include the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in Idaho, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium in Sitka, Alaska, and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel, Alaska.
The projects will use the IHS Joint Venture Construction Program model, which allows tribes or tribal organizations to finance and build healthcare facilities using tribal, private or other non-IHS funding. In exchange, IHS seeks congressional funding for staffing and operations through a no-cost, 20-year lease arrangement.
The initiative comes as tribal communities face growing demand for long-term and skilled nursing…
