Diné health leaders press for mental health funding, new Gallup medical center in $83 billion IHS plan

WINDOW ROCK

Navajo Nation health officials traveled to Washington, D.C., the week of Feb. 16 as tribal leaders shaped $83 billion in Indian Health Service funding priorities for fiscal 2028, pressing for investments in mental health care, hospital construction and a new medical center in Gallup as the nation’s largest tribal health system confronts aging facilities and staffing shortages.

The figures came out of the annual National Tribal Budget Formulation Work Group meeting, where Sherylene Yazzie, the executive director for the Navajo Department of Health, and Council Delegate Germaine Simonson and tribal representatives from around the country gathered to identify funding needs for tribal health care systems ahead of the federal budget cycle for fiscal 2028.

To read the full article, please see the March 5, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.

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