Urban Indian Center officials, backers unveil expanded health care offerings at Murray clinic

MURRAY — The health care providers at the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake's health clinic make it a point to be cognizant of the needs and perspectives of the Native American community.

"We get to know them first and just really kind of understand their whole care," said Matt Poss, the center's executive director.

Craig Sandoval, director of clinical operations at the Murray facility, said clinic employees put a focus on making the community feel comfortable and at ease. "The nervousness goes away, and there's a sense of belonging and family," he said.

Now, with the expansion and upgrade of the 6-year-old facility complete, Indian center officials want to get the word out about the clinic, hoping to serve more in the American Indian and Alaskan Native communities, its clientele. They held a community blessing of the facility and open house on Thursday as part of the efforts.

"We're wanting now to extend an invitation to all our tribally enrolled members to come and see us and get their services here, establish care here and get into a care team," Sandoval said.

The facility offers free care to eligible patients with a large amount of its funding from the Indian Health Service, a federal agency that operates within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The clinic, which opened in 2020 at the Indian center's Salt Lake City location at 120 W. 1300 South, initially just offered primary care to adults and senior citizens. Now at its new location at 5450 S. Green Street in Murray, it also offers primary care to children, radiology services and pharmacy services. Notably, Sandoval also stressed the blessing ceremony at the facility before clinic officials and supporters offered public remarks on Thursday.

"The new clinic here has now been cleansed and blessed to provide services. Our community wants to know that," he said.

The Urban Indian Center is unique among health providers geared to the Native American population in part because of its location in an urban area. Facilities operated through the Indian Health Service and Tribal 638 facilities, typically run by a tribal government, are generally located on reservations or ancestral land.

The distinction is notable, according to Sandoval, because more and more Native Americans are moving to urban areas. Of late, the facility gets some 5,000 visits a year, serving around 2,000 people who represent more than 100 tribes.

"Places like this are becoming very important. We become the lifeline," Sandoval said. "When they have nowhere to go, the door is open to say, 'Come on in. How can we help you?'"

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Numerous speakers addressed the gathering Thursday, including Heather Borski, assistant deputy director of community and well-being at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.

"This clinic is truly a monument to partnership and investment and hope, ensuring that comprehensive care is accessible where it's needed most," she said.

Loretta Christensen, chief medical officer at the Indian Health Service, lauded the organization's association with the Urban Indian Center. "We're building stronger, more responsive and more culturally grounded health systems that honor our past, meet the needs of today and prepare us for all the generations to come," she said.

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