Pascua Yaqui Tribe Breaks Ground on New Health and Social Services Building
(TUCSON, Ariz. – July 16, 2019) — The Pascua Yaqui Tribe has broken ground on a new 100,000- square-foot building for its Health and Social Services Divisions.
The new Pascua Yaqui Health Services Center II, to be located at Camino de Oeste and Calle Tetakusim, will centralize several crucial services of the Pascua Yaqui Health Services Division and the Social Services Department into a single facility: Centered Spirit, Sewa U’usim Program, Nursing Program, Diabetes Program, Pharmacy, Specialty Clinics, Health Administration and Social Services.
These departments provide critical medical, psychological, prevention/intervention and social services to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe but are currently spread out in different buildings throughout the community. Unification of direct service providers in the new building, which sits across the street from the main Health Services building, will allow the Health Services Division and Social Services Department to better serve the community through the ease of accessibility for its clients and by collaboration between the departments which, in turn, will lower the cost and increase access to the services to Tribal Members.
The building will also be used after-hours for community meetings ranging from small and medium support and education groups, to very large groups which can use the community conference room off the main lobby. This project will have a significant positive impact upon the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
A specialty clinic, in which patients can receive services for cardiology, gastroenterology, gynecology, hanger, JVN retinal imaging, nephrology, orthoplus, podiatry, rheumatology, and wound care, will also be in the new building. It will also have a café and will feature covered parking with solar panels.
“We have been planning this new facility for several years,” said Raquel E. Aviles, MHI, associate director of health for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. “Having a new facility to help us adapt to rapidly changing healthcare systems will be more efficient for our providers and more convenient for our members.”
“Also, having the leadership with the vision to embrace innovative thinking to bring to fruition the ability to provide the many health and social services that we have available from a new building will benefit our tribal citizens,” Aviles continued.
With an 18-month timeline, construction is expected to be completed by late 2020 or early 2021. Two hundred employees will work at the new facility.
Swaim Associates, Ltd. is the architect and BFL Construction is the general contractor.
ABOUT THE PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a federally recognized tribe located in southern Arizona encompassing five communities: New Pascua – the reservation, Old Pascua – in Tucson, Barrio Libre – South Tucson, Marana – northwest of Tucson, and Guadalupe – southeast suburb of Phoenix. The tribe gained recognition by the United States government on Sept. 18, 1978. There are approximately 22,000 registered members of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
