Indian Health Service Announces Three Project Selections for the Long-Term Care Joint Venture Construction Program

The Indian Health Service is announcing that three projects have been selected as part of the fiscal year 2025 Long-Term Care Joint Venture Construction Program (LTC JVCP): the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in Plummer, Idaho; the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium in Sitka, Alaska; and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel, Alaska.

Long-term care services are a critical need across Indian Country, where many Tribal communities face limited access to skilled nursing and other long-term care options, particularly in rural and remote areas. This is the first time that JVCP funding will be awarded for long-term care facilities, marking an important step in expanding access to these services in Tribal communities.

Under a JVCP agreement, a federally recognized Tribe or Tribal organization uses Tribal, private, or other available non-IHS funds for the acquisition or construction of a health care facility that meets the IHS planning, environmental review, sustainability, design, and construction requirements. For the LTC JVCP, this includes construction of a long-term care, skilled nursing, or long-term home facility. In exchange, the IHS will request that Congress fund the staffing and operations of the health care facility under a no-cost, 20-year lease.

In 2025, the IHS solicited applications for new Long-Term Care JVCP projects and received 14, with three being selected:

• Coeur d'Alene Tribe (Plummer, Idaho): The Marimn Health Long-Term Care and Skilled Nursing Facility will provide a full continuum of culturally responsive, person-centered care while meeting all CMS and Idaho Department of Health and Welfare requirements. The facility is designed to expand access to long-term and skilled nursing care services for approximately 1,297 members of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.
• Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (Sitka, Alaska): This project will establish a 28-bed skilled nursing and long-term care facility to expand access to elder and long-term care services in Southeast Alaska. The facility will serve approximately 23,670 Alaska Native residents and will be located adjacent to the Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center.
• Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (Bethel, Alaska): This project will expand and modernize the existing long-term care facility to increase access to skilled nursing and long-term care services. The upgraded facility will enhance care capacity, support a modern and adequately staffed health care delivery system, and serve approximately 30,000 Alaska Native residents across 58 remote rural communities in southwest Alaska.

These three Tribes and Tribal organizations will work with the IHS on the planning and site selection phases of their projects, culminating in the execution of a JVCP Agreement. At that point, the IHS will develop the staffing and operating costs for each project and request the funds through the annual budget formulation process.

For over three decades, the IHS JVCP has strengthened partnerships with Tribes across the country and expanded access to comprehensive, culturally acceptable health services for American Indian and Alaska Native people. Since its inception in 1991, more than 30 tribes have partnered to open or expand more than 35 facilities, including health centers and hospitals, that increase access to quality health care for Tribal communities.