On Tuesday, the federal officials labelled the level of care at some public hospital serving Native Americans patients "unacceptable", vowing to tribal leaders that the agency would hash out plans that would work to enact quick and long-lasting reforms.
According to Fierce Health Care, federal inspectors in South Dakota and Nebraska found dozens of major and potentially life-threatening problems at three Indian Health Services facilities. The problems include non-credentialed physicians and unsecured drugs. The emergency room at Rosebud Indian Reservation's hospital in South Dakota was closed down after extensive inspection results in November. The patients were transferred to the next nearest hospital about 50 miles away.
Principal Deputy Director of the Indian Health Service, Mary Smith, spoke with the tribal leaders of the Great Plains in Sioux Falls during the first in a series of meetings to examine and discuss the facilities' quality of care, including the recent results of insufficient and inadequate service at some of the hospitals. As part of the US treaty obligations, Native American tribes are provided with free health care by the HIS, reports ABC News. The agency provides services to about 130,000 individuals through 15 health centers and seven hospitals.
Mary Smith welcomed questions from the critics and said that she will work with the representatives of the tribes to look for solutions that could ameliorate or improve the quality of care at Rosebud, including facilities in Winnebago, Neb, and Pine Ridge. Argus Leader reported that Pine Ridge has already resolved its problems; however, the hospitals in Winnebago didn't, losing some of its funding from the government.
The director also said that the agency would buy more advanced equipment at Pine Ridge, Winnebago, and Rosebud - with $2 million congressional appropriations. Smith said they would double their efforts to fix the reported problems and would immediately look at staffing and housing problems that have left holes in the hospital's facilities.
The reported additional funding will also fuel the work of a consortium tasked with improving the quality of care at government clinics and hospitals. The agency hopes that the Congress would grant $402 million budget boost in 2017.
