A view of the Winnebago Hospital on the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska. Image from Google Maps

The new leader of the Indian Health Service met with tribes in the troubled Great Plains Area this week.

According to news reports, acting director Mary Smith promised to direct a $2 million Congressional appropriation to the three worst-performing facilities in the region -- the Winnebago Service Unit in Nebraska, along with the Rosebud Service Unit and Pine Ridge Service Unit in South Dakota. The Winnebago hospital already lost certification from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Service and the other two are being threatened.

"We are committed to fixing these issues not simply in the short-term but so that the changes are sustainable over time," Smith told tribal leaders in Aberdeen, South Dakota, the Associated Press reported. "I am committed, along with the rest of the team, to creating a culture of quality, accountability and leadership. You have my assurance that is far from business as usual at IHS."

Smith spent Tuesday and Wednesday hearing complaints from tribal leaders and tribal members from the entire area. She's in Nebraska on Thursday to visit the Winnebago facility and to meet with leaders of the Winnebago Tribe.

Smith is a member of the Cherokee Nation who joined the IHS last fall. She was named acting director of the agency on March 1.

Get the Story:
In tense meeting, tribal leaders, IHS head talk solutions (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 4/7)
Medicaid expansion work continues as clock winds down (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 4/7)
Federal official pledges improved care at tribal hospitals (AP 4/5)
Indian Health Service chief to meet with tribal leaders (AP 4/5)
Ahead of meeting with IHS head, tribal leaders air grievances (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 4/4)

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Report:
In Critical Condition: The urgent need to reform the Indian Health Service’s Aberdeen Area (December 2010)

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