By Roland Murphy | AZBEX
The Indian Health Service division of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services is exploring the possibility of a replacement facility for the Whiteriver Hospital on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.
IHS issued a Request for Information for Architect-Engineer firms on Aug. 25. The published notice is “for Market Research to determine if a set aside can fulfill the requirements set forth in this request for information.”
The Service expects to issue a Request for Proposal for AE services to design a replacement Whiteriver Hospital, “a 395,844 gross square foot building.” The selected firm will handle preparing the construction documents package a general contractor will use to build the replacement hospital.
The Current Facility
According to IHS profile information, the current Whiteriver Indian Hospital is a 45-bed facility that serves approximately 17,000 tribal members and other Native community residents. The hospital is accredited through the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and is staffed by 22 physicians, a nursing staff of 79 and more than a dozen additional specialized care staff members. The hospital offers general medical, pediatric, alcohol treatment, obstetrics and ambulatory surgery services. Inpatient surgery and complex care cases are referred to larger hospitals.
