U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Indian Health Service: The Federal Health Program for American Indians and Alaska Natives
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Albuquerque Area
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Zuni-Ramah Service Unit

The Zuni-Ramah Service Unit serves the people of the Zuni Pueblo and the Ramah Navajo community. There are two facilities in the Zuni-Ramah Service Unit..the Pine Hill Health Center and the Zuni Indian Hospital.

Zuni Indian Hospital The Zuni Indian Hospital is a 45-bed general medical hospital and provides a full range of out-patient services. The hospital has 37 medical/surgical and pediatric beds and 8 obstetrical beds. A research center, staffed by the University of New Mexico's Departments for Pediatrics, Communicative Disorders and Medicine, is also housed by the facility. Full outpatient diagnostic and treatment facilities include emergency treatment and a casting room as well as speciality services such as well-baby, family planning and mental health clinics, and substance abuse and nutrition services.

The Community Health program provides health education, public health nursing, social services, nutrition and psychiatric services, school health programs, and environmental health services.


Health Care Team
Clinical Psychologists
Dental Hygienists
Dental Officers
Dieticians
Health Care Team
Health Educators
Medial Technologists
Medical Officers
Medical Records Staff
Mental Health Technicians
Nurses
Nutritionists
Optometrists
Pharmacists
Radiology Technologists
Social Workers

Zuni Corn Mountain The Zuni-Ramah Service Unit is in a bold, vivid country at the western edge of central New Mexico. At 6-7,000' elevation, the landscape is made of open sagebrush valleys, great sandstone mesas, narrow canyons, pinon-juniper forests and is dotted with several artificial lakes. The Ramah Navajo reservation on the Continental Divide features tall ponderosa tapering to pinon as elevation changes.There are exploration possibilities everywhere in the area. A large number of ancient ruins and religious shrines (absolutely not to be disturbed) are still in evidence on the Zuni reservation. Dowa Yallane (the sacred Corn Mountain of the Zuni - left) can be climbed, as can Twin Buttes and a number of canyons cutting the area.

Nutira Canyon has both ancient villages against dramatic tilted rock forms and manmade Nutira Lakes for fishing and picnicking with abundant waterflow. Ojo Caliente, a sacred hot spring, it also close by. El Morro offers Inscription Rock and its famous "Graffiti" from travelers over the centuries. Nearby Gallup (37 miles) offers a full complement of social and service facilities. Its trading posts carry some of the finest examples of Indian craft from many tribes. It is also the annual site of the huge Intertribal Ceremonial. A limited number of government quarters are available at the Service Unit; others commute from surrounding communities.



Pine Hill Health Center
Pine Hill Health Center The relation of the Pine Hill Health Center was due to local initiative and determination and is an important part of the story of the Ramah Navajo leadership who have turned their Community into a model of Indian self-reliance. The Center was the first Community-controlled health care system in the U.S. to function under Public Law 93-638, the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1976, which enables Indian peoples to establish and manage their own health care systems, among other service areas, under contract with the U.S. Government.

The Pine Hill Health Center is supervised and supported by the Ramah Navajo School Board (RNSB), Inc., the initiators of this and many other vital community projects, and the five members of the Ramah Health Board, with continual input from the Community. The Center was entirely conceived and executed by the Community.

A wide range of services is offered at the Health Center including outpatient, dental and field health care, with laboratory services on-site.

Most of the staff of the Pine Hill Health Center are from the Ramah Navajo Community and plans call for total Community staffing. Therefore training is stressed, both in-service and outside, to support staff in their efforts to provide highest quality care to the Community.

The real promise for the future of health care at Ramah is the young people, and every effort is made to attract them into the health field.



Zuni Pueblo
It is said that Zuni Pueblo, its adobe walls gleaming gold when first sighted by Spanish explorers, gave rise to the legend of the "7 Cities of Cibola". Zuni is one of the oldest, continuously occupied Indian villages, and is also one of the largest of the 19 Pueblos, with a young population of about 9500. Most of the Zuni people live at the pueblo itself, at the center of their 400,000 acre reservation.

zuni oven World renowned for their fine inlay and "needlepoint" style work, 70% of the Zuni still rely on traditional silversmithing for cash income, in addition to farming and livestock management. Most homes are stone, adobe or concrete block structures housing large multi- family groups. Bread is often baked in traditional outside ovens (left). The Zuni are a deeply religious tribe--nearly all social activities center around traditional ceremonies. Traditional medicine is still very much a part of their lives.



Ramah Navajos
rock formation The Ramah Navajos, with a population of about 1700, are considered to be a leader among Native American Tribes in asserting political self-determination. An additional 1500 Navajo in scattered communities between Zuni and Gallup access their services. Most members of the Ramah Tribe live in traditional hogans--single room log structures whose design can be traced to Asian origin--with some distance between homes.

The Ramah Navajos have occupied their present location since the 1500s. Many maintain a semi-nomadic lifestyle. Health and religious traditions are also important to the Navajo, especially ceremonies for sick persons, known as "Sings".



Contact Information
Zuni Indian Hospital
PO Box 467
Zuni, N.M. 87327
Phone: (505) 782-4431

Pine Hill Health Center
PO Box 310
Pine Hill, N.M. 87357
Phone: (505) 775-3240


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