Latest Stories
Bill supports nursing home on Pine Ridge Reservation (02/04)
The South Dakota Senate Health Committee voted unanimously on a bill that would authorize a nursing home on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The state has banned new nursing homes over concerns about Medicaid costs. The limitation has prevented tribes from...
Nez Perce Tribe receives ambulance from Hanford site (02/03)
The Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho will be able to provide paramedic and emergency services to its members thanks to a donation from the Department of Energy. The tribe received a surplus rescue unit from the department's Hanford Site....
Oklahoma tribes get $4M grant from HUD for new clinic (02/02)
The Northeastern Tribal Health System in Oklahoma will use a $4 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to build a new clinic. Construction is expected to begin this summer. The clinic will replace an existing facility....
Mark Trahant: Transparency and Indian Health Service (02/01)
"Paul Levy’s Running A Hospital “is a blog started by a CEO of a large Boston hospital to share thoughts about hospitals, medicine, and health care issues.” The postings started as a lark. But when the president and CEO of...
National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 20 (02/01)
National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day will be observed March 20 for the fourth year. Ti-chee, a non-profit, is organizing a series of events on the Lummi Nation in Washington. Organizer Hamen Ides wants more American Indians and Alaska Natives to...
Obama seeks $4.4B for Indian Health Service budget (02/01)
President Barack Obama is proposing a $4.4 billion budget for the Indian Health Service. According to a fact sheet just posted by the White House Office of Management and Budget, the fiscal year 2011 budget will increase access to care...
Lakota woman goes for Senate confirmation hearing (01/28)
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee holds confirmation hearing this afternoon for Lillian Sparks as Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Sparks, who is Oglala Sioux and Rosebud...
Mark Trahant: Transparency in health care reform bill (01/25)
"Perhaps one reason why the massive health care reform legislation is in so much trouble is that few people understand the details. The bill is massive, complicated, packed with official government jargon and so many specifics were kicked forward to...
Senate confirmation hearing for Lillian Sparks at HHS (01/25)
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a confirmation hearing this Thursday for Lillian Sparks as Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Sparks, who is Oglala Sioux...
Mark Trahant: Starting over on Indian health reform bill (01/20)
"Did health care reform die at the ballot box? I’ve been reading on Twitter how pleased Republicans are with Scott Brown’s win for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat. It’s a game changer. The best way to catch the wave of that...
Natives in Saskatchewan suffer highest rate of diabetes (01/19)
Native women and Native men in Saskatchewan suffer from the highest rates of diabetes in the province, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The incidence of Type 2 diabetes was more than four times higher...
Mark Trahant: IHS Director Roubideaux on passing IHCIA (01/18)
"The Indian health system is stuck in a world of conditional sentences. That’s a sentence with the phrase, “if … then.” If Congress passes health care reform, then … There are many variables based on a complex grid of...
Robert Salgado, Soboba leader, placed in intensive care (01/18)
Robert Salgado, a longtime leader of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians of California, was placed in intensive care at the Loma Linda University Medical Center for an undisclosed ailment, The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported. Salgado has served as chairman for...
Dental clinic on Navajo Nation receives $248K USDA grant (01/15)
Nizhoni Smiles, a dental and orthodontist clinic on the Navajo Nation, received a $247,278 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development to upgrade its offices and expand services. The clinic has offices in Shiprock, New Mexico,...
Nearly third of Native female teens involved in violence (01/14)
Nearly a third of American Indian and Alaska Native teens were involved in serious fights or attacks in the past year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported. Among Native girls and women aged 12 to 17, 29...
IHS encourages vaccination against H1N1 virus (01/12)
[Wes Studi and Flu: Take 3 to Protect the Circle of Life] All American Indians and Alaska Natives need to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, officials with the Department of Health and Human...
Mark Trahant: Business model for Indian Health Service (01/12)
"What is the business model for the Indian health system? On the surface this is a preposterous question because the U.S. government promised to fund the health care needs for American Indians and Alaskan Natives. It’s also supposed to...
IHS pushing for H1N1 flu vaccinations in Indian Country (01/11)
The Indian Health Service is unveiling a public service announcement campaign to encourage American Indians and Alaska Natives to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu. IHS Director Yvette Roubideaux will participate in a conference call...
Yvette Roubideaux: The real meessage about H1N1 flu (01/08)
"This week, my colleagues in the Department of Health and Human Services and I will be reaching out to Americans across the country to amplify a message we’ve been delivering for months: Go get your H1N1 flu vaccine. National Influenza...
Mark Trahant: Some resoluting on Indian tobacco use (01/06)
"A story in Indian Country Today reported about the Tulalip Tribe’s tobacco cessation effort. “Here at Tulalip and throughout Indian country we face an uphill battle in addressing use of tobacco. Some tobacco companies use Native American images and cultural...
Dorgan cites 'major breakthrough' on Indian health (12/21)
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, announced a "major breakthrough" today on the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Dorgan said S.1790, a bill to permanently reauthorize the IHCIA, has been included in H.R.3590,...
Mark Trahant: IHCIA now a part of Senate health bill (12/21)
"Early Monday morning the Senate moved health care insurance reform one step closer to becoming law. But the steps ahead, in political terms, must be perfect. But I don’t want to bury the lede: The Indian Health Care Improvement Act...
Tournament organizers tackle Indian youth suicide (12/17)
Organizers of the annual Lakota Nation Invitational required all players to attend a suicide prevention program. The Bear Characters, a student drama group from the Pine Ridge Reservation, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe's Sweetgrass Project, put together a one-hour program...
Mark Trahant: Projects improve Indian health care (12/14)
"There are two master narratives about the Indian Health Service. First, everyone knows the Indian health system needs more money. Everyone, it seems, except the collective members of Congress who, when they write budgets, can’t seem to appropriate at least...
CDC: High rate of Indian deaths from H1N1 virus (12/10)
American Indians and Alaska Natives made up a disproportionate number of deaths from the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today. Between April 15 and November 13, 426 people in 12...
Tulalip Tribes launch program to target tobacco use (12/09)
The Tulalip Tribes of Washington are launching a program to stop tobacco use among members The program will encourage youth not to use tobacco and will help adults stop using tobacco. Some initiatives will take place at local schools. The...
Canada spent $15M on Native diabetic amputations (12/09)
The Canadian government spent $15 million on amputations for Native diabetics in Manitoba, a cost that is almost entirely preventable, a health expert said. Caroline Chartrand of the Diabetes Integration Project said the government won't provide money for foot care...
Mark Trahant: Work together for health care reform (12/08)
"What do we want in a health care system? It’s a question Dr. Donald Berwick asked an audience of 5,000-plus people at the Institute for Health Care Improvement’s National Forum on Tuesday. Such an easy question. I can quickly rattle...
Mark Trahant: Health care system tied to economy (12/07)
"There is much talk about the recession reaching bottom. The economy at a turning point. Again. The proof, at least this time, was the drop in the national unemployment rate to 10 percent. But that data point doesn’t really reflect...
Opinion: Abortion debate poisons Indian health bill (12/04)
"Though it has lurked on the sidelines in the national health care debate, Indian Health Services is one instructive example of a government-run health system that, for all its faults, serves as a fraying lifeline for impoverished communities devastated by...
Indian Health Care Improvement Act clears hurdle (12/04)
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee approved S.1790, the Indian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization and Extension Act, at a business meeting on Thursday. The bill permanently reauthorizes all current Indian health programs, eliminating the need for tribes to go to Congress...
Doctor: IHS plagued by lack of adequate resources (12/03)
"The Federal government runs three systems: The VA, the Military system, and the Indian Health Service. My expertise is number three. How the Indian Health service is run is important, for it is an example on how to supply medical...
Full witness lists for Senate hearings on Indian health (12/02)
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee hold two oversight hearings on Thursday to discuss Indian health issues. The first hearing focus on dental health in Indian Country. The witness list follows: DR. RONALD L. TANKERSLEY D.D.5., President, American Dental Association MS....
Indians in New Mexico have highest rate of flu deaths (12/02)
American Indians in New Mexico are dying from the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, at the highest rate, a Department of Health official said. As of last week, 40 people died from the swine flu. Eight of...
Indian Country waits for long-overdue health reform (12/02)
After a decade of waiting, Congress appears close to passing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act and including American Indians and Alaska Natives in the national health reform bill. Tribes have been pushing to reauthorize the IHCIA since 1999 but...
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