SENATE MEMORIAL 14

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

John Pinto

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE GALLUP INDIAN MEDICAL CENTER.

     WHEREAS, the replacement of the Gallup Indian medical center in Gallup, New Mexico, when completed, will be a modern, technologically advanced facility with enough space and staff to provide an expanded level of health care services specifically designed to meet the health care needs of the Native American population within the Gallup service unit; and

     WHEREAS, the existing Gallup Indian medical center is an old, inadequate facility that requires replacement because renovation and expansion are not acceptable; and

     WHEREAS, the Indian health service, in partnership with the Navajo Nation, conducted a comprehensive strategic planning process to define an integrated regional health care network, the primary object of which was to develop an area-wide master plan that would address the short- and long-term health care requirements related to primary care and specialty care services; and

     WHEREAS, with the Gallup Indian medical center serving as a major referral center for other Indian health service facilities in the region, the master plan determined that the Gallup Indian medical center was meeting only one-third of patient need; and

     WHEREAS, in addition to providing health care services, the replacement of the Gallup Indian medical center will contribute to economic development in the Gallup region by providing jobs, both during and after construction;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that congress be requested to appropriate sixteen million dollars ($16,000,000) in fiscal year 2010 as a part of the budget of the Indian health service for purchase of land for the proposed replacement of the Gallup Indian medical center and for the first phase of the design of the replacement of the Gallup Indian medical center; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation, the director of the Indian health service and the director of the Navajo area Indian health service.

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