Indian Health Service budget in focus amid ongoing controversies
Monday, April 8, 2019
By Acee Agoyo
WASHINGTON, D.C. --
The Indian Health Service is back in the spotlight on Capitol Hill as the Trump administration struggles with old, emerging and self-inflicted controversies.
In testimony on Tuesday, the highest-ranking official at the embattled IHS will once again discuss the case of a pediatrician who was convicted of abusing young patients on the Blackfeet Nation. The former employee, Stanley Patrick Weber, awaits trial on similar charges in connection with young citizens of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
"Regarding the recent media reports on patient abuse by a former IHS employee, we have taken every opportunity to speak with our tribal and urban partners, as well as our federal employees, about how this conduct is unacceptable and will absolutely not be tolerated at IHS," Principal Deputy Directory Michael Weahkee states in his written testimony, a copy of which has been posted by the House Committee on Appropriations.
Weahkee and other IHS officials visited the Blackfeet Nation earlier this year to discuss a case that attracted the attention of the mainstream media and even the White House. A similar meeting recently took place with leaders of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the testimony reveals.
"I expressed my sincere regret that children were victimized by those entrusted to care for them and have made it absolutely clear that IHS will not tolerate sexual assault and abuse in its facilities," states Weahkee, who is a citizen of the Pueblo of Zuni.
"This opportunity followed a similar meeting I had in February with the Blackfeet Nation in Montana," he continues. "These two communities were victimized by the actions of the former IHS employee. I want to thank the leadership of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Blackfeet Nation for their partnership as we work to re-establish trust with our patients."
Indianz.Com on YouTube: Indian Health Service at United
South and Eastern Tribes Impact Week
Weahkee also brings up the newly-established Presidential Task Force on Protecting Native American Children in the Indian Health Service System. The seven-member group, which includes one IHS representative, held its first meeting last week in Oklahoma, with a goal of ensuring Indian children aren't victimized by the likes of Weber, described by federal prosecutors as a "pedophile" who feels no remorse for the hurt he caused on two reservations.
"I assure you that our workforce understands how serious this issue is, and I am proud of the efforts and commitment of our staff for the progress we’ve made, and we continue to press forward," Weahkee says in his testimony as he outlines the additional steps the IHS is taking to address the scandal.
The remarks, which take up a significant portion of Weahkee's statement, show how the IHS continues to wrestle with yet another quality of care issue. A slew of facilities in the Great Plains Region, a four-state area that includes the hospital where Weber is accused of abusing boys, have been forced to reduce, divert and even eliminate services due to inadequate and life-threatening practices that date back almost a decade.
According to Weahkee, the agency has retained certification at two of those facilities -- the Sioux San Hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota, as well as the hospital that serves citizens of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, also in South Dakota. Due to substandard care, the latter facility had to shut down its emergency room for seven months, during which at least nine people died while seeking assistance away from the reservation.
The IHS is "preparing" to seek certification for a third facility in the Great Plains, this one on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, That's where Weber was sent by the IHS after leaving Blackfeet county, and it's where federal prosecutors allege he abused even more young patients for more than a decade, according to the superseding indictment in his case.
A
'pedophile': Stanley Patrick Weber, a former Indian Health Service pediatrician,
has been convicted of abusing Indian children on the Blackfeet Nation in Montana
and is facing a trial for abusing children on the Pine Ridge Reservation in
South Dakota. Photo: U.S. Attorney's Office
The trial on the charges isn't scheduled to start until September 6, ensuring that the scandal will continue to batter the IHS for several more months to come. And with appealing his conviction after being sentenced to 18 years in prison in neighboring Montana, the legal drama is far from over.
But the victimization of children isn't the only crisis afflicting the IHS. A day before the White House announced the task force in a conference call with reporters, the Trump administration dropped a bomb -- the Department of Justice will no longer defend the legality of the Affordable
Care Act (ACA), a move that puts the future of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) in doubt.
A week later, almost every tribe in the nation signed onto a court brief to do what the Trump administration so far has been unwilling to do -- stand up for the IHCIA, which was made permanent by the ACA in 2010. All six Democrats who serve on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs have since rebuked the executive branch's decision.
“The Trump administration has made clear it will stop at nothing to gut the Affordable Care Act and leave millions of Americans – including thousands of families in New Mexico and across Indian Country – without access to health care and protections for pre-existing conditions,” said Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), the vice chairman of the committee. “President Trump and the Department of Justice’s decision to support a full repeal of the ACA puts the health and wellbeing of Native families at risk.”
“The Trump administration’s irresponsible decision to rip health care from millions will have devastating consequences for Montana families, including the many American Indians who qualify for expanded Medicaid or financial assistance to buy coverage. And it puts rural hospitals and community health centers at grave risk of closing their doors to Native American communities who rely on them for quality, affordable care,” added Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), a former chairman and vice chairman of the panel.
Pine Ridge Hospital's HIM Staff with RADM Michael Weahkee, Principal Deputy Director, IHS, and Mr. James Driving Hawk, Acting Area Director, Great Plains Area IHS
Principal Deputy Director Michael Weahkee of the Indian Health Service is seen on the far right with staff of the Pine Ridge Hospital in South Dakota, along with James Driving Hawk, far left, who has since been named permanent director of the Great Plains Area of the IHS. Photo: Great Plains Area Indian Health Service
The view from the White House is understandably different, even as the co-chair of the IHS task force was outed in the mainstream media as a key player in getting the administration to blow up the ACA and the IHCIA. In the April 26 conference call with reporters, one official said President Donald Trump was uniquely positioned to "solve" the problem of predators preying on Indian children.
"Speaking from the perspective of the White House, we believe this is exactly the type of situation that this president was elected to solve," a senior administration official told reporters. "This has gone on for more than 20 years. It transcended both Republican and Democratic administrations. This is not a Democrat or a Republican issue; this is a systemic failure."
But one area Trump has yet been able to fix is finding a permanent director for the IHS. His first pick was forced to drop out of the confirmation process more than a year ago after doubts were raised about his background and experience. There's been no word of a replacement nominee since then and it's why Weahkee continues to serve as the public face of the agency even though he was never intended for job.
“It’s been four years," National Congress of American Indians President Jefferson Keel said of the vacancy at the agency charged with delivering health care to more than 2 million Native Americans. "This is a travesty that the federal government must rectify, not next year, not next Congress, but right now.”
Michael D. Weahkee, a citizen of the Pueblo of Zuni, serves as the Principal Deputy Director of the Indian Health Service. he is seen her testifying before the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2019. Photo: SCIA
Congress, for now, is going to focus on the fiscal year 2020 budget for the IHS. That's the topic of Tuesday's hearing before the House Appropriations subcommittee that's in charge of writing the agency's funding bill.
The 2020 budget, released by the White House a month ago, calls for the IHS to receive $5.9 billion. That represents an increase of $392 million, or 7 percent above current levels.
"The budget advances our mission to raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) to the highest level," Weahkee's testimony reads.
"The president’s budget grows the resources available to meet the nation’s commitment to AI/AN in a constrained budget environment, reflecting a strong commitment to Indian Country," it states.
The testimony does not disclose what happened to another facility in the Great Plains, this one in Nebraska. Almost four years ago, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal agency, revoked the certification of the hospital that serves citizens of the Omaha Tribe, and the Winnebago Tribe.
"The Winnebago Hospital still holds the distinction of being the only federally operated hospital in the United States to have lost its CMS certification," Victoria Kitcheyan, a council member from the Winnebago Tribe told the House subcommittee last month. "This occurred as a result of years of mismanagement and serious patient care deficiencies including lack of staff training, equipment and overall hospital operations."
"When this ordeal began for the Winnebago Tribe in 2015, we were adamant that because the Indian Health Service created this problem, the Indian Health Service needed to fix it," Kitcheyan said. "As the weeks turned into months and then into years, the tribe finally came to the hard conclusion that it could wait no longer for the IHS to solve the problem."
Last July, the tribe took over operation of the facility under a self-governance compact with the IHS. It's now known as the Twelve Clans Hospital, a nod to the traditions of the Winnebago, or Ho-Chunk people.
Officials from the hospital -- whose leadership consists of a majority of Native women -- have since expressed confidence that the facility will do what the IHS failed to do -- regain certification, possibly before the end of the year.
The IHS, meanwhile, just got around to naming a permanent director for the Great Plains Area, more than three years after the prior person was ousted on the eve of a hearing on Capitol Hill. James Driving Hawk, a citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, has served in the position in an "acting" capacity for the last two years.
“Over the past two years, James Driving Hawk has demonstrated the experience and leadership necessary to lead the IHS Great Plains Area as we continue to improve and provide access to quality health care services for American Indians and Alaska Natives,” Weahkee said in a news release last Thursday. “I want to congratulate James on his selection as area director and thank him for his years of dedicated service in fulfilling the IHS mission.”
“I’m proud to lead the IHS Great Plains Area and I’m excited to continue the incredible progress staff across the region has made in improving and sustaining access and quality of care for the patients we serve," Driving Hawk said. "I look forward to continuing to build and maintain relationships with tribal leaders and members across the IHS Great Plains Area,”
Afternoon agenda of @WhiteHouse Presidential Task Force included a discussion w/ Dr. Mark Butterbrodt (who worked for @IHSgov at Pine Ridge), discussion about vetting, recruitment, & retention of doctors, and a presentation re: MOU for child abuse reporting in OK #IndianCountry. pic.twitter.com/aOdf5gM2I5
As for the Presidential Task Force on Protecting Native American Children in the Indian Health Service System, the first meeting took place last Thursday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the office of R. Trent Shores, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He's a citizen of the Choctaw Nation and co-chair of the new body. As the only Native American currently serving as a U.S. Attorney, he has significant experience in prosecuting child abuse in Indian Country.
The group met with Chief James Floyd of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Mark Butterbrodt, a physician who used to work at the Pine Ridge Hospital before being transferred to another state when he raised suspicions about the predator pediatrician. Protocols for reporting and investigating child abuse in Indian Country were discussed, and an investigator from the Office of the Inspector General for Health and Human Services, which is also investigating the scandal, was present, according to the White House.
"Upon completion of its initial deliverables, the task force will convene again for meetings, including in South Dakota and Montana," the White House said, highlighting the places where young IHS patients were victimized.
Stanley Weber is a pedophile. For
over two decades, he used his position as a pediatrician with the Indian Health
Service to gain access to vulnerable prepubescent males, and subsequently
committed terrible acts of sexual abuse upon his victims under the guise of
providing them with “medical treatment.” While living and working on the
Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Weber lured young juvenile males to his home by
providing them with alcohol, pizza, soda, ice cream, video games, money,
clothing, and overnight trips both on and off the reservation. Once isolated
with these children, Weber seized his opportunity to act upon his deviant sexual
desires by engaging in forced or coerced sexual activity with them. Weber
leveraged his position within IHS and the communities where he worked and lived
to gain the trust of many of his coworkers and supervisors, allowing him to
survive multiple allegations and investigations into his suspicious behavior.
Although the crimes at issue in this case occurred more than 20 years
ago, Weber has never had to face the consequences of his actions. In fact, when
questions were raised about his behavior, he simply moved to a new community
where he continued his pattern of criminality. Meanwhile, his victims grew up,
saddled with confusion, shame, and fear that they could not reveal what happened
to them as children, lest they face further embarrassment and ridicule from
members of their community. The impact of Weber’s crimes ultimately manifested
in his victims in the form of legal problems, drug and alcohol abuse, the
inability to maintain stead
Even after his conviction, Weber continues to be unapologetic for his
actions and shows no remorse for his victims or the harm he inflicted upon them.
In fact, it is doubtful that he views his actions as criminal at all. His
decades of predatory sexual abuse of children are among the most heinous and
serious crimes cognizable by federal criminal law. At nearly 70 years of age,
and with no sign of remorse, there is no reason to believe that Weber either
recognizes the severity of his crimes or any realistic hope that he can ever be
rehabilitated. Accordingly, justice demands that Weber face a severe sentence
despite the age of his misconduct in this case.
'Predator on the Reservation'
Former IHS pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber also awaits
trial in South Dakota for allegedly abusing boys on Pine Ridge Reservation. He
was subject of @frontlinepbs +
@WSJ expose "Predator
on the Reservation" https://t.co/DzNxaCNIbf
