The Indian Health Service and the Cocopah and Quechan Tribes recently celebrated the opening of Fort Yuma Health Care Center. The 76,000-square-foot facility serves the two tribes located along the Colorado River in Arizona and California. The healthcare center, at full capacity, will staff 200 employees and provide primary care, dental and eye care, diagnostic imaging and laboratory, pharmacy, behavioral health, community outreach, diabetes treatment and wellness services.
The facility is designed to support the Indian Health Service’s commitment to the Chronic Care Initiative, which focuses on clinical prevention and management of chronic conditions, such as diabetes, which is prevalent among Native Americans. Design and operational strategies give high priority to the interrelationship between primary care, physical therapy and the wellness department to boost cross-referrals and enhance physical fitness in the treatment and prevention of disease.
“Fort Yuma Health Center brings new medical equipment, a larger staff and the latest Evidenced-Based Design to replace what was the oldest facility in the Indian Health Service inventory,” said Bill Sabatini, principal of Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, the firm that designed the building. “The building also emphasizes a sensitive response to the extreme desert climate by providing a sheltered, east-facing courtyard, giving staff, visitors and patients an opportunity to gather outside.”
Construction of the new building took two years. It was designed by Dekker/Perich/Sabatini and built by Pilkington Commercial Co., Inc.
Photo courtesy of Travis Lewis, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini.
