Construction begins on new hospital campus on Navajo Nation
Nov 12, 2021, 4:05 AM
(Sage Memorial Hospital photo)
(Sage Memorial Hospital photo)
PHOENIX — Construction got underway last week on a new hospital campus in Ganado on the Navajo Nation with a groundbreaking ceremony.
Sage Memorial Hospital’s new campus made up of a two-story, 90,000-square-foot hospital, medical office building and on-site staff housing will be located west of the current hospital facility on an 18-acre site.
The new facility will be 40% larger than the current hospital and provide at least 40 hospital beds and expanded services.
“The executive management team and the board of directors have been able to work to make this vision a reality for Sage Memorial Hospital,” Alden Joe, interim chief executive officer for Sage Memorial Hospital, said in a press release.
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“This will allow the hospital to provide central and expanded services while continuing to improve the quality of healthcare for the Navajo people.”
The hospital serves the communities of Ganado, Steamboat, Klagetoh, Wide Ruins, Greasewood Springs, Cornfields, Kinlichee and Nazlini.
Along with creating new employment opportunities throughout construction, the new facility will also create approximately 100 new jobs for Navajo people, officials said.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer joined Joe, members of the hospital’s board of directors, council members and other dignitaries for the groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 4.
“This groundbreaking is historic for the Navajo people and ensures that we will continue to provide much-needed relief for families near the community of Ganado,” Lizer said in the release.
“We congratulate everyone who is working hard throughout this global health pandemic and those who are working hard to make access to health care services readily available to our people. What we are hoping to do with a new hospital is create a wonderful facility that not only meets today’s needs, but tomorrow’s needs.”
Officials said 97% of Sage Memorial Hospital staff and employees have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
