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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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Regional Specialty Centers

    In 2013, California Area IHS completed a feasibility study on constructing Regional Specialty Centers to serve the Native American population of California. The feasibility study recommended two inpatient Regional Specialty Centers, to be located in Sacramento and Temecula.

    What is a Regional Specialty Center?

    A Regional Specialty Center is a health care facility that offers the following services:

    • Specialty Healthcare
    • Ambulatory Surgery
    • Modern Diagnostics
    • Tele-Medicine
    • Short Stays
    • Overnight Stays
    • Intensive Care/Inpatient Services

    Regional Specialty Centers would NOT offer the following services:

    • Primary Care
    • Emergency Care
    • Walk-In Services for Local Native People

    Regional Specialty Centers are designed to support, not replace or compete with, services presently offered at Tribal and Urban Indian Health Programs across the state. A patient would require a referral to be seen.

    Recent Consultation Efforts

    California Area IHS conducted several consultations in 2022 to share the Regional Specialty Centers concept and see if stakeholders would be interested in pursuing it further. These efforts included:

    • Annual Tribal Consultation, April 4, 2022
    • California Area Tribal Advisory Committee (CATAC) Special Meeting, May 11, 2022
    • Program Directors Meeting, June 22, 2022
    • Tribal Leaders Meeting, August 24, 2022
    • California Area Tribal Advisory Committee (CATAC) Meeting, October 13, 2022

    The presentations for the August Tribal Leaders Meeting and October CATAC Meeting are available for download to the right.

    Revision of Feasibility Study

    California Area IHS is currently working on revising the feasibility study to include the following items as requested by Tribal Leaders:

    • Updating user population and estimated costs
    • Evaluate utilization and services evolution since 2013
    • Incorporating latest health care technology and trends
    • Addition of maternity / childbirth services
    • Providing remote professional services provided at Tribal sites
    • Caregiver / patient lodging on site managed by the Regional Center
    • Pharmacy and Durable Medical Equipment (DME) hub

    For more information about the Regional Specialty Centers concept and input IHS has received from Program Directors and Tribal Leaders, please review the documents available for download below.

     

    For additional information, CONTACT:

     

    Jonathan Rash, PE, OEHE Associate Director

    Office: (916) 930-3981, ext. 344

    E-mail: jonathan.rash@ihs.gov

     

    Ali S. Ali, PE, Director of Health Facilities Engineering

    Office: (916) 930-3981, ext. 203

    E-mail: ali.ali@ihs.gov

     

     

    Documents available for download:

     

    2013 Regional Specialty Centers Feasibility Study (PDF)

     

    August 2022 Presentation to Tribal Leaders (PDF)

     

    October 2022 Presentation to California Area Tribal Advisory Committee (PDF)