Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes encourage health careers
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The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) are working to improve both tribal health care and tribal employment by sponsoring programs to help youth and young adults enter health care careers.
“If we want our youth to be successful, engaging them in health care careers is a great way to help them be successful as adults,” said Anna Whiting Sorrell, Director of Operation, Policy and Planning for the CSKT Tribal Health Department.
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CSKT Tribal Health Scholars
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The CSKT Tribal Health Scholars Program works with college students interested in pursuing health care careers, and offers support. This support includes summer training and employment opportunities, mentorship with Tribal Health Department staff, and small scholarships, said Sorrell. Participants are also encouraged to stay in touch with the Tribal Health Department when they return home on school breaks.
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“If you’re interested in being a dental hygienist, a dental technician, a pharmacy technician, a nurse, a pharmacist… we’re going to find a place for you in Tribal Health.”
— Anna Whiting Sorrell, Director of Operation, Policy and Planning, CSKT Tribal Health Department
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The program emerged from a desire to spur tribal members to begin considering health care careers early in their education. So far, participants have graduated and taken positions with the Tribal Health Department as nurses, health administrators, a pharmacist, and more.
In addition to the Tribal Health Scholars Program, CSKT also offers a summer youth leadership program for middle school, high school, and college students. This program exposes students to health care careers as a positive career path and teaches about health and wellness.
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Even if participants in these programs choose health care careers outside the CSKT Tribal Health Department, Sorrell sees it as an overall benefit to tribal members who will encounter them in nontribal health settings. “It’s also important we infuse the overall health system with Indian people,” she said.
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May: Coverage for every family
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Share this ad in your newsletter or on your website. Other sizes are available on CMS’s Outreach and Education Resources page.
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American Indians and Alaska Natives, find health coverage that’s right for your unique family. https://youtu.be/nV9J98gSn8o
#Nativehealth
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Brochures and flyers
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New resources
My Health—Children’s Health Checklist (PDF, 965 KB, 2 pp) empowers parents to review preventive health activities with their child’s doctor.
My Health—Men’s Health Checklist (PDF, 1.4 MB, 2 pp) provides a preventive health checklist for men to track their health.
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Additional resources
Employer-Sponsored Insurance for You and Your Family (PDF, 578 KB, 2 pp) explains how to enroll family members in employer-sponsored insurance and other ways to get health coverage if employers don’t offer insurance.
AI/AN Medicaid Enroll Any Time Flyer – Family flyer (PDF, 477 KB, 1 p) explains who is eligible for Medicaid and CHIP and the benefits of health coverage, and includes a space for your local tribal health information.
AI/AN Medicaid Enroll Any Time Flyer – Mom & Daughter flyer (PDF, 507 KB, 1 p) explains who is eligible for Medicaid and CHIP and the benefits of health coverage, and includes a space for your local tribal health information.
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Download these files or order copies of these resources on the Tribal Products Ordering Page. Please allow 2 weeks for your order to be completed.
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National Indian Women’s Health Resource Center focuses on tradition to help Native families
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The Oklahoma-based National Indian Women’s Health Resource Center (NIWHRC) helps its clients address physical and mental health issues through culturally relevant practices and programs that build on Native traditions.
The organization’s program Passing on Tradition, for example, is led by Native women who mentor Native girls. Its other trainings cover health systems, cultural competency, traditional leadership, and community promise. This work was recently featured in a Cherokee Phoenix article.
Many of the issues NIWHRC works on can be sensitive topics—human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and suicide.
“We do our best to involve the entire family and reach Native youth. Since our focus is on trainings and classes, we reach out to parents and have built a trusting relationship with tribes,” said Executive Director Janie Dibble. “Native women and families often come to us looking for assistance and resources.”
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“Partnerships, coalitions, and prevention education are key to what we do. We have worked closely with tribes like Cherokee Nation, tribal clinics, and hospitals throughout the years.”
- Janie Dibble, NIWHRC Executive Director
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Janie Dibble reviewing educational material. (Photo courtesy of Cherokee Phoenix)
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The resource center also provides health insurance assistance and often makes referrals. They reach about 1,500 people in Oklahoma.
Check out NIWHRC resources, including:
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New Report: HIV diagnosis rate increasing for AI/AN men
Results from a recently published study of Indian Health Service (IHS) data (PDF, 4.26 MB, 6 pp) suggest a need for initiatives aimed at preventing HIV infection among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) men.
According to an analysis of data from IHS electronic health records, AI/AN men accounted for two-thirds of new HIV diagnoses by IHS between 2005 and 2014. Additionally, the rate of new HIV diagnoses among AI/AN men increased between 2010 and 2014.
The analysis of IHS data also shows that late-stage diagnosis is common in Native communities. Late-stage diagnosis can significantly impact public health because HIV transmission is more likely to occur when people with HIV are unaware of their disease status.
Addressing the stigma around HIV in Native communities can help improve prevention and timely diagnosis of HIV infection. You can help by reminding patients that HIV-related support services are available and that HIV testing and treatment are often covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and health insurance.
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IHS builds National Committee on Heroin, Opioids and Pain Efforts (HOPE)
The IHS National Committee on Heroin, Opioids and Pain Efforts (HOPE) cultivates partnerships with tribes to identify and disseminate culturally sensitive resources, improve access to treatment, and reduce substance abuse-related deaths.
Its workgroups focus on prescriber support, medication assisted treatment, harm reduction, perinatal substance abuse, program effectiveness, technical assistance, and communications/website maintenance.
View and share the inaugural HOPE newsletter. It highlights resources and topics such as prescriber training, behavioral health policy, and treatment.
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Report details Native child health and nutrition in Minnesota
 A new report from Healthy Children, Healthy Nations seeks to establish a framework to improve the health and nutrition of Native children in Minnesota.
Charting Pathways on Early Childhood Development and Nutrition recommends focusing on three areas:
- Expanding Native early childhood development programs to incorporate traditional Native knowledge and culture
- Providing healthy early nutrition, including supporting breastfeeding, offering healthy food in childcare settings, and serving healthy traditional foods in the home
- Building whole children, families, and communities by helping address historical trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and substance abuse
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The Healthy Children, Healthy Nations Initiative is a partnership of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s Seeds of Native Health campaign, Better Way Foundation, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Center for Indian Country Development.
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CMS ITU trainings
These trainings are for business staff, benefits coordinators, medical records staff, and patient registration staff. They cover CMS Tribal Affairs updates, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Health Insurance Marketplace, state-administered programs, Social Security, and Veterans Affairs.
Trainings in 2018:
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Protecting Indian Health and Human Services Programs and their Beneficiaries Conference
May 15–16, 2018
Edmond, OK
Learn more (PDF, 732 KB, 1 p)
Learn about health care and grants management compliance for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funds.
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Webinar: Zika Champions in Indian Country
May 18, 2018
1 p.m.–2 p.m. eastern
Learn more and register
The webinar “Zika Champions in Indian Country: Spotlight on Three Zika Projects funded by the National Indian Health Board,” will highlight the efforts of three tribes working to address the threat of Zika in their communities.
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Tribal Opioid Consultation
May 21-22, 2018
Prior Lake, MN
Learn more (PDF, 290 KB, 4 pp)
This consultation will take place in conjunction with the National Indian Health Board’s Tribal Public Health Summit. It will be led by the National Institutes of Health, IHS, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It is free of charge, and no prior registration is needed.
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2018 National Tribal Public Health Summit
May 22–24, 2018
Prior Lake, MN
Learn more
The National Indian Health Board is hosting a summit for public health professionals, elected leaders, advocates, and researchers. The conference theme, “Balance, Harmony, Culture, Health,” will feature solutions for Indian Country. Topics include:
- health promotion and disease prevention
- public health policy, infrastructure, and capacity
- substance misuse and behavioral health
- climate change and environmental health
- cancer prevention and treatment
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National Tribal Health Conference
September 17–20, 2018
Oklahoma City, OK
The National Indian Health Board is coordinating its 35th Annual National Tribal Health Conference at the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center. More details will be available at a later date.
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About the Newsletter
Covering Indian Country is published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Division of Tribal Affairs to share resources, success stories, and best practices with the people who connect tribal communities to health insurance.
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