The Wall Street Journal has recently published two articles regarding the services and stories about Indian Heath Service.  Here are links to view the articles:

People Are Dying Here: Federal Hospitals Fail Tribes

Families Speak Out: Stories of Indian Health Service Patients

South Dakota Urban Indian Health is seeking a full time Executive Director (ED).  The (ED) serves as the chief executive officer for the multi-site healthcare organization in South Dakota and reports directly to the Board of Directors.

The ED has primary responsibility for organizational design and management, strategic planning, project development and documented policies and procedures.  Their responsibilities also include maintaining/increasing financial security and support.  They will lead as advised by the Board of Directors and administer and enforce the agency’s mission.

For more information visit their website at http://sduih.org/careers/.

The Navigator program consists of navigators in S.D. and navigators in N.D. who provide individuals with additional assistance in shopping for and enrolling in plans under the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace.

What is the Health Insurance Marketplace, or Exchange?
A Marketplace, or Exchange, is a “One-stop online shopping site” where individuals can purchase private or public health insurance coverage. Consumers can do online comparison-shopping and look at a variety of plans with different benefits and costs. There will be two main types of insurance marketplaces: individuals or families buying their own coverage and employees of businesses with 100 or fewer workers (50 or fewer in some states).

Talk to a Navigator today!
Call 605.721.1922 ext. 123 or email [email protected]

Community Health Representatives (CHR) of the Great Plains Area, please join us for a free one-day training about Native Patient Navigation. Learn about innovative techniques and tools that can advance your understanding about cancer prevention, screening, and treatment. Learn to effectively communicate the benefits of screening to patients . More information will be coming, for questions, please contact the Great Plains Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative.

Travel Scholarship Form

2017 Cancer Symposium

TSU and the National Indian Health Board coordinated a meeting of Tribal Leaders, Tribal Public Health Workgroup Members and Technical Advisors with CDC Director, Dr. Frieden on October 19th.  The Tribal Leaders submitted a transition plan with identified strategic priorities for the agency in advance of the Presidential election. Subsequently the transition plan was submitted to the agency’s Tribal Advisory Committee and was voted into acceptance as an official working document by quorum.

GPTCHB is pleased to announce that the Sexually-Transmitted Infections and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (STITPPI) has been funded for another cycle to provide teen pregnancy and STI prevention education to youth within four new tribal communities. STITPPI had previously worked with three communities – the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa/Meskwaki Nation, and a tribal community in South Dakota – to implement the Draw the Line/Respect the Line curriculum for this same purpose, demonstrably increasing knowledge of STIs and teen pregnancy and how to prevent them, and empowering youth to resist peer pressure, participate in healthy behaviors and relationships, and build positive communication skills. STITPPI is funded through the Tribal Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), provided through the Family & Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), Administration for Children & Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board is a tribal organization governed by the 18 tribal leaders representing 17 federally recognized tribes and one IHS service area within the four-state region of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa.

As per GPTCHB’s by-laws, the health board hosts a minimum of four board of directors meetings annually and as such, covers travel costs to its members or their designated proxy.

The GPTCHB budgets to cover travel for only one representative per tribe. It is conceivable that more one representative from a tribe may attend board meetings, in which case, travel for additional representatives is not paid by GPTCHB, and may be paid by the tribe.

In the October 5, 2016, issue of Native Sun News, newspaper employee Ernestine Chasing Hawk reported allegations of financial improprieties by OST leadership including double dipping for travel to GPTCHB board meetings by President John Yellowbird Steele, and Council representatives James Red Willow, Sonia Little Hawk Weston, and Jackie Sears.

However, GPTCHB was never contacted by Native Sun employee Ernestine Chasing Hawk to fact check her reporting. Also, GPTCHB has never been approached by Melanie Two Eagle Black Bull to confirm expenditures incurred by GPTCHB for any OST representatives or their proxies.   At no time has GPTCHB received a request to provide documentation to the OST Treasurer’s office to audit for potential discrepancies between GPTCHB’s disbursements and the tribe’s records.

Lastly, GPTCHB goes on record to confirm that President John Yellowbird Steele has not received travel funds from GPTCHB in at any time during FY years 2015 or 2016.

Jerilyn Church, MSW

Chief Executive Officer