Health
Judge orders IHS to keep emergency room open


A federal judge ordered the Indian Health Service to keep open the emergency room on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.

Citing budget cuts, IHS planned to close the emergency room in Wagner on Saturday night. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol issued a temporary restraining order late Friday.

The Yankton Sioux Tribe filed the lawsuit on Thursday. The tribe says the closure of the emergency room will cost lives.

South Dakota's Congressional delegation is trying to secure a $500,000 appropriation for the emergency room.

Get the Story:
Wagner Clinic: Judge Grants Restraining Order In Case (AP 10/2)
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Senators propose money for IHS emergency room (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 9/30)
Tribe Protests Wagner ER Closing (The Yankton Press & Dakotan 9/30)
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Related Stories:
Editorial: Good work in keeping tribe's ER open (02/16)
Yankton Sioux Tribe emergency room gets reprieve (02/01)
Yankton Sioux Tribe emergency room gets reprieve (02/01)
Yankton Sioux Tribe to lose emergency room (01/23)