Bush appoints interim director of IHS

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2002

President Bush last week promoted a regional Indian Health Service official tribes in Oklahoma claim is part of an unresolved problem over lack of accountability and financial irresponsibility.

Several tribes in southwestern Oklahoma asked Charles Grim, one of twelve regional directors, nearly two months ago to act on issues facing the Indian Health Service in the Oklahoma City area. Their request has gone answered.

"Whenever we try to get information, we are shut off," Lupe Gooday, acting chairman of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe told The Daily Oklahoman last week regarding Grim's silence.

Friday's official announcement of Grim's promotion to interim director of the IHS might give the tribes an explanation, although probably an unsatisfactory one. "Dr. Grim is a well-recognized leader among American Indians and Alaska Natives who will be a worthy advocate for Indian health programs and improving the health of Indian people," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson in a statement.

Notice of the rise in ranks was provided to tribes and Indian health advocates on Thursday. The White House, in fact, was being pressed to name an official replacement for Dr. Michael Trujillo, a member of New Mexico's Laguna Pueblo who left his post in June after eight years in the Clinton administration.

Key among the concerns is funding and jobs of the IHS. The department is undergoing a reorganization initiative that could affect hundreds of jobs, according to national advocates.

The tribes in Oklahoma are worried about money and three positions in particular. At a recent meeting of the Southwest Oklahoma Intertribal Health Board, five of seven members voted to fire Lawton Indian Hospital Administrator Gary Davis and two senior supervisors.

The Apache, Caddo, Comanche, Delaware, Fort Sill Apache, Kiowa and Wichita tribes cited an unknown but confirmed debt at the hospital. But Grim in a May 17 letter to the tribes said the "budget problem" should not resort to name-calling.

"It is during these times we need more compassionate communication, active listening, less blaming, and most of all a spirit of partnership for meeting these immediate challenges," he wrote.

Subsequently, an office employee said she was ordered by the hospital to shred over $1 million worth of IHS bills. Carol Shelton is on administrative leave.

Funding has been a key concern in the Oklahoma for years. The state has more than one-fifth of the nation's American Indian population yet has the lowest funding per capita, according to the IHS.

In Grim's Oklahoma City area, funding is $825 per person. compared with $1,370 in California and $2,655 in Alaska. Tribes have repeatedly asked Congress to increase the funding available.

Grim is a member of the Cherokee Nation. A dentist by profession, he joined the IHS in the early 1980s, eventually overseeing the delivery of health care of more than 280,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives in Oklahoma, Kansas, and portions of Texas.

Grim's position does not require Senate confirmation. Tribal leaders said they were told the White House would not name an official IHS director until the end of the year.

Relevant Documents:
Secretary Tommy Thompson Statement (8/2) | Charles W. Grimm, DDS, Biography (IHS)

Relevant Links:
National Indian Health Board - http://www.nihb.org
Indian Health Service - http://www.ihs.gov