The Strong Family Health Center in Alturas, California. Photo from Indian Health Service
The Cedarville Rancheria of California has kept a health center up and running amid a crisis that cost the lives of four people on the reservation. The tribe established the Strong Family Health Center to serve Indian communities in northern California. The facility has remained active in the wake of the February 20 fatal shooting at Cedarville headquarters. "In the aftermath of this incident, Strong Family Health Center’s focus has been to provide services to meet the needs of its clients, who have been affected by the terrible loss of life," the center said in a statement that was distributed by its law firm, Hobbs, Straus, Dean, & Walker. "SFHC is coordinating with other agencies, including the Modoc County victim witness program, Native American Mental Health Services, and Modoc County Behavioral Health to provide grief counseling and other services to these clients at this very difficult time," the statement continued. The shooting took the lives of Chairman Rurik Davis, 50, and Administrator Shelia Lynn Russo, 47, who served on the board of the center. Replacements were appointed by the tribe on Monday. "Over the upcoming weeks the SFHC facility will remain open and will continue to provide much needed services in collaboration with the Indian Health Service as well as local and state agencies that have dedicated resources to address the aftermath of this unprecedented tragedy," the center said in the statement. The center had 190 active Indian patients in fiscal year 2011, according to the Indian Health Service. Related Stories:
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