A new federal VA clinic is set to open on the Navajo Nation today.
The Chinle VA Clinic’s Expanded Services at the Chinle Comprehensive Healthcare Facility will provide five-day-a-week, in-person primary care to Navajo and Native veterans in some of the most remote regions of northern Arizona.
These areas are often known as “medical deserts” due to the shortage of medical providers, high turnover and a historic mistrust in the healthcare system.
Similar expansions are slated for Kayenta and Tuba City.
The Chinle opening comes days after Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren urged a U.S. House committee to bring a full-service VA medical center with services equivalent to those offered in metropolitan areas to the Navajo Nation.
Currently, the Phoenix and Albuquerque VA hospitals are the only full-service medical centers within driving distance of the Navajo Nation