A year after touring Flagstaff Medical Center facilities, Senator followed up on plans to enhance health care accessibility in Northern Arizona
FLAGSTAFF – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema met with newly-appointed Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) CEO David Cheney to discuss making health care more affordable and accessible to Arizonans in underserved parts of the state, including in rural and tribal communities across Northern Arizona.
Sinema supports NAH’s plans to construct a new hospital and ambulatory care center in Flagstaff which will expand the ability to serve patients from the Navajo Nation, other Tribal communities, and rural Northern Arizona.
“Arizonans should have timely access to care when they need it – no matter where in our state they live. NAH’s plans to expand and modernize its facilities will enhance its ability to provide the highest quality of care to Arizonans in medically underserved areas and be better prepared for future emergencies,” said Sinema.
Last summer, Sinema convened a roundtable with NAH and local stakeholders to discuss plans to expand health care access to better serve the community and received an update on plans to build a new hospital and health and wellness village.
Sinema has supported ongoing projects to expand and enhance care at Northern Arizona Healthcare’s facilities, including for wound care. Medically underserved communities in Northern Arizona, especially Native American tribes, face disproportionately higher rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease which can lead to untreated wounds becoming severely infected and potentially amputations. The new clinic aims to serve 9,000 wound patients a year, closer to where patients live in Northern Arizona and from the Navajo Nation.