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COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES :.,
REESDWASHINGTON, D.C. 20,548
B- 16 4 0 3 1 ( lt~IS G'N :, ':,: , ,'; ' °i
The Honorable James G. Abourezk
United States Senate 1fII gill P!I 1111111
Dear Senator Abourezk: LM090064
This is in response to your April 30, 1975, and subsequent
requests for information on (1) allegations, made by two nurses
formerly employed at the Indian Health Service Hospital at
Shiprock, New Mexico, of insanitary conditions and inadequate
patient care at the hospital, (2) Indian Health Service agree-
ments with other Government agencies, (3) Indian Health Serv-
ice compliance with Indian preference laws, (4) the propriety
of contractor and consultant selection by the Indian Health
Service's Phoenix area office and Office of Research and
Development in Tucson, and (5) the adequacy of data provided
by the Indian Health Service to Indian health boards. we
are still obtaining data on two other of your requests con-
cerning voluntary sterilization and medical experimentation
on human subjects. Findings on these topics will be reported
when that work is completed.
We discussed the results of our review with officials
of the Indian Health Service, Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare, Their comments have been recognized in prepar-
ing this report. However, they did not review the report nor
provide written comments on its content. Our observations
are summarized below, and the detailed information we obtained
is contained in the enclosure.
SHIPROCK HOSPITAL
We reviewed allegations concerning the hospital's poor
quality health care, uncleanliness, inadequate nursing staff,
and low staff morale.
The Indian Health Service acknowledged the need for
improving the cleanliness of the hospital, hospital grounds
and staff housing. In 1972, the Joint Commission on Accredi-
tation of Hospitals revoked the hospital's accreditation be-
cause of its structural and administrative deficiencies, not
direct patient care. At the time of our review, September
1975, the Indian Health Service was taking steps to improve
the situation and had reapplied for accreditation.
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