Dear Tribal Leader and Urban Indian Organization Leader:

I am writing to invite you to participate in an Indian Health Service (IHS) listening session on the IHS Health Care Facilities Construction Priority System and the remaining projects on the IHS Facilities Construction Priority List.

I am also initiating Tribal Consultation and Urban Confer with Tribal Leaders and Urban Indian Organization (UIO) Leaders from the IHS Phoenix Area on the Phoenix Indian Medical Center (PIMC) replacement project.

The Indian Health Care Improvement Act requires the IHS to maintain a Health Care Facilities Construction Priority System and protects the priority status of certain projects established under the construction priority system in effect on March 23, 2010. See 25 U.S.C. §1631(c)(1). These protected projects include certain projects first placed on the IHS Facilities Construction Priority List in the early 1990s and that remain incomplete today.

The IHS continues to make progress on these projects. Each year, the IHS submits a five-year facilities plan to Congress and makes it publicly available, providing clear information on project progress, work that remains, and the options for advancing these projects. More information on the IHS Health Care Facilities Construction Program, including links to the five-year plan, is available in the attached enclosure.

IHS Health Care Facilities Construction Priority System Informational Listening Session

Please make plans to join the IHS for an informational listening session on October 20, 2026, from 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. PDT, during the National Congress of American Indians 83rd Annual Convention and Marketplace in Palm Springs, California. The listening session will be held in the Smoketree F Room at the Palm Springs Convention Center located at 277 N. Avenida Caballeros in Palm Springs, CA 92262.

During this informational listening session, the IHS will explain the Health Care Facilities Construction Priority System, review the remaining projects on the IHS Facilities Construction Priority List and their status, and describe how Congress funds health care facilities construction.

The session will also provide an opportunity to hear Tribal perspectives and discuss strategies for advancing and completing the remaining projects.

I encourage you to participate, ask questions, and share your perspectives as the IHS considers strategies for the path forward.