Crownpoint IHS cuts its ER hours

By Diné Bureau

CROWNPOINT — The emergency room at the Crownpoint Indian Health Service hospital is temporarily on limited hours of operation because of an acute shortage of qualified technical staff, according the Indian Health Service.

Emergency services for Crownpoint IHS will not be available from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. on Monday through Friday and all day on Saturday and Sunday.

Patients who require emergency services at night and on weekends are being asked to go directly to nearby facilities such as the Gallup Indian Medical Center , Fort Defiance Indian Hospital , Acomita-Canoncito-Laguna PHS Indian Hospital and Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock.
On Monday through Friday, ambulatory and urgent care will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Patients are urged to keep appointments during those hours for ambulatory care, including physical therapy, dental, mental health, pharmacy, maternal child health and optometry. Walks-ins will also be seen during those hours.

On Memorial Day, May 26, the Crownpoint Urgent Care will be open.

The outlying clinics at Pueblo Pintado and Thoreau will be open Mondays through Fridays from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The Navajo Nation Emergency Management Service can be reached at (505) 786-6218 for ambulance services.
The limited emergency services started May 12 and will be in effect until the hospital is able to hire more technical staff, which could be in mid-June, Patricia Olson from IHS said.