Native Americans Reliant on Hospital Feel Abandoned by U.S. During Pandemic

The hospital is federally run by the Indian Health Service, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services and primarily based in Rockville, Md. The I.H.S. was created to hold out the federal government’s treaty obligations to offer well being care providers to eligible American Indians and Alaskan Natives.

Situated 60 miles west of Albuquerque, the Acoma-Cañoncito-Laguna Service Unit serves about 126,000 sufferers a 12 months. Before scaling again its providers, it had 25 inpatient beds and served round 9,100 tribal residents from the encompassing tribes. The hospital has been in operation for the reason that mid-Seventies and supplied inpatient and outpatient care, together with dental, optometry, pharmaceutical and medical emergency providers.

Coronavirus circumstances for the Acoma Pueblo, which has about 3,000 residents, have spiked not too long ago, together with 100 in early November after zero reported circumstances in September. Acoma and Laguna are two of the 19 Pueblo tribes in New Mexico; the Pueblo folks dwell within the southwestern United States.

The workplace within the Albuquerque space is certainly one of I.H.S.’s 12 service areas and serves 20 Pueblos, two Apache bands, three Navajo chapters and two Ute tribes throughout 4 southwest states. There are 5 hospitals, 11 well being facilities and 12 discipline clinics serving the residents of the realm.

Wendy Sarracino, 57, a neighborhood well being consultant for the Acoma folks, stated that when her son broke his leg, she needed to cease at two hospitals earlier than he may obtain the care he wanted. At the time of his damage, the Acoma-Cañoncito-Laguna service unit hospital had already closed for the day so Ms. Sarracino drove her son 45 minutes to Grants.

But after the hospital did not diagnose the a number of fractures in her son’s legs, Ms. Sarracino drove him one other hour to Albuquerque. The hospital in Grants discovered solely a single fracture in her son’s leg, however on the hospital in Albuquerque, an X-ray discovered a number of fractures in each legs.

“That was kind of our lifeline,” Ms. Sarracino stated of the hospital. “We didn’t have to go very far for health care. An awareness needs to be made that people do live in rural New Mexico and we need health care.”