{"id":11911,"date":"2021-05-24T10:53:30","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T14:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=11911"},"modified":"2022-03-22T12:18:50","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T16:18:50","slug":"ivan-star-comes-out-tribes-paid-for-health-care-with-our-treaty-lands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/05\/24\/ivan-star-comes-out-tribes-paid-for-health-care-with-our-treaty-lands\/","title":{"rendered":"Ivan Star Comes Out: Tribes paid for health care with our treaty lands"},"content":{"rendered":"\"pineridgeihs\"\r\n
A COVID-19 community vaccine event on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Photo: Indian Health Service<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Health care is paid for with treaty land\u2026 and then some<\/div>\r\n
Monday, May 24, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Ivan Star Comes Out<\/DIV>\r\n
Native Sun News Today Columnist<\/DIV>\r\n
nativesunnews.today<\/A> <\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nI once heard a local veteran state that he is \u201cIndian\u201d first and a veteran second. His comment reflects my sentiment \u201cto the T.\u201d \r\n

<\/p>\r\nI was once told by a local Indian Health Service (IHS) employee to use the Veteran\u2019s Administration medical facility located in Hot Springs. So, I stopped using the local facility in Pine Ridge a long time ago and managed to stay away for many years.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nMy experience with the local IHS facility was disappointing and disheartening. For example, each time I went to the hospital for a cough, I was prescribed aspirin and sent home. Since the cough persisted, I usually go to see a doctor in a neighboring town and find a serious condition like pneumonia. I\u2019ve heard many express their frustration as a family member was misdiagnosed which exacerbated their condition.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAs early as the 60s and 70s, I heard local \u201cIndian\u201d residents lament the less than quality treatment they had to endure at the IHS facility. In recent times, most patients in need of specialty care, like surgery and severe trauma injuries, are being referred out and airlifted to the new Monument Hospital in Rapid City, or to medical facilities in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and sometimes to Scott\u2019s Bluff, Nebraska.\r\n

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<\/IMG> <\/DIV>\r\n
Ivan F. \r\nStar Comes Out. Photo courtesy Native Sun News \r\nToday<\/A><\/FIGCAPTION> <\/DIV><\/DIV>

<\/p>\r\nI was probably off the mark but I suspected they were preparing to close shop and vacate the premises as part of a secret plan. I was surprised to see some developments that say otherwise. About three weeks ago, I ended up going to the new Emergency Room and was dumbfounded. I will say it appears to be state-of-the-art. For a moment, I thought I was elsewhere.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe wife, a dialysis patient, was taken there for \u201cchest discomfort.\u201d It appears the facility is upgrading their facility to improve health care. I sat with the wife waiting for her ground transport to Rapid City where she was treated and released. I ended up paying for her prescriptions.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAs for prescriptions, the IHS pharmacy often does not carry the medicines prescribed by \u201coutside\u201d physicians. Usually, I end up with \u201cgeneric\u201d medicines that may have been used during the war in Korea and World War II. Other than the VA facility pharmacy, there were many times when I had pay for my medicines and it has been pricey.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAside from my personal experiences, I don\u2019t know much about the local IHS facility, other than the obvious, like the helicopter, ambulances, and their COVID-19 inoculation service. I understand people still have to wait after arriving for scheduled appointments. Anyway, I just want to understand why the government provided health care and services we have are not top quality.\r\n

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