Nursing home to open in Chinle

By Pamela G. Dempsey
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Navajoland Nursing Home Inc. is opening doors of a new facility.

The Chinle Assisted Living Center, Navajoland's latest addition, announced its presence on Monday with an open house celebration.

The latest project, under the supervision of Lydia Lee, is geared towards Navajo elderly who need only a limited amount of care.

"It's needed reservation-wide," said Ella Dalton, administrator.

Unlike a nursing home where supervised care is 24-hours a day, the Chinle Assisted Living Center offers more privacy.

This is said to be the first assisted living elderly home within the Navajo Nation and, along with the Chinle Nursing Home, the only one state certified.

Through state and federal funding, each room comes equipped with a television, microwave, refrigerator, and telephone. The facility offers a shared kitchen where care monitor breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a small common area that will serve as a living room

Dalton said that while many "grandmas and grandpas" don't need the constant, high-level care of a nursing home, they do need someone there.

Many families, she said, find it hard to care for their elderly relatives while trying to care for their own families and working full-time.

The Navajo Nation Division of Social Services does provide in-home care, but caregivers typically work eight-hour weekdays.

Sometimes, Dalton said, case workers find instances of elderly neglect or abuse.

"Due to that," Dalton said, "this is where we come in."

Council Delegates Leo R. Begay, Jerry Freddie and Alice White were scheduled to attend as was Arizona State Sen. Albert Hale.

For more information, contact Navajoland Nursing Home Inc. at (928) 647-5216.