The main entrance to the Sioux San Hospital, an Indian Health Service facility in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo by Kevin Abourezk

Health | National

Native Sun News Today: Indian Health Service lays off 50 at troubled hospital

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Heads roll at Sioux San

Rapid City Indians express concerns after GPTCHB take-over: 50 employees laid off

By James Giago Davies

Native Sun News Today Contributing Editor

nativesunnews.today

RAPID CITY— Keeping things simple when it comes to convoluted issues, like the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board (GPTCHB) 638 contract takeover of the Rapid City Indian Hospital (Sioux San), is not easy. Understandable fears, hostile communication, and escalating mistrust between the community and the HB, have worsened the conflict over this takeover.

Much of the community animosity is directed at the director of the GPTCHB, Jerilyn Church, and she was willing to face that animosity at a community meeting held last week by the GPTCHB.

The top community fear is patients having to pay for their health care, particularly: will they be billed for referrals and have to fork out a co-pay for every visit? Church directly addressed this concern and clearly stated that the idea was not to impose this cost on the patient.

“Tribal sponsorship,” Church said, “allows us to take a certain portion of the PRS (Purchased and Referred Care) funds and purchase insurance on behalf” of the patient. She added that this “allows us to pay the co-pay and the premium.”

Church did not say, once this system is in place, should the PRS funds not be available, or should prove inadequate, that the patient would be responsible for the co-pay and premium, but this is a possibility, and a burden, thousands of Sioux San patients, could not meet.

Jerilyn Church, the Chief Executive Officer of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board, addresses a community meeting in Rapid City, South Dakota, on June 5, 2019. Photo by James Giago Davies / Native Sun News Today

The second fear is the Reduction in Force (RIF), employees that were let go in the takeover. At present, RIF’d employees number 50, many let go after a quarter century working at Sioux San, but there are a number that have contacted the NSNT, and wish to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, who are currently seeking employment elsewhere. The atmosphere of fear and mistrust, which many think exists only in the community at large, is much more extreme at the Sioux San itself.

Church had a detailed chart which did not address specific reasons for RIF’d employees, but she implied they were let go for poor performance reviews or because they declined to sign a contract or were unresponsive.

The third fear is that the Pharmacy will close, but Church had a chart which clearly listed the pharmacy as a service that the GPTCHB will continue providing at present. She did not speak to the long term plan for pharmacy.

Church also reassured people at the meeting last week that all services, although some initially less than optimum, because the new system will “take time” developing to its full capacity, would be available. She did not say they would not be reduced at a later date.

Despite having run a gauntlet of opposition from Rapid City Indian Community advocate groups, repeated Indian Health Service (IHS) rejection letters, and the rescinding of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST) tribal resolution, and the near rescinding of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) supporting resolution, the GPTHB continues to proceed with 638 plans to take over operation of the Sioux San.

Initially, three resolutions were required for the 638 takeover, one from each of the managing partner tribes, Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST), CRST and the RST. The GPTCHB got those resolutions, and then things started going wrong for them. RST rescinded their resolution over fears that the GPTCHB was not communicating with the community, that their affairs were not transparent, and that the GPTCHB may be unqualified to manage a health care facility.

“We now have seven years of clean financial audits,” Church said. “We have very transparent and impeccable financial checks and balances in place. We are the only organization that has the capital and expertise to take on a project of this size.”