Fragmented Health Systems Are Failing Native Communities — Interoperability Is the Fix

Disconnected electronic health records do not just create paperwork headaches — they cost lives in Indian Country.

Brenda HBrenda Hood Sounds the Alarm at HIMSS 2026

At the HIMSS 2026 Global Conference in Las Vegas this April, Brenda Lucas Hood spoke clearly. She is Client Experience Analyst at HealtHIE Nevada and Tribal Liaison for the HIMSS Nevada Chapter. “It’s critical. It’s very critical,” she said of digital health access for Native populations. Simply put, interoperability means different health systems can connect, share, and actually use each other’s data — a universal translator between hospitals that currently speak different languages. Hood brings 30 years of experience in health information exchanges, medical billing, and Indian Health Service, including two years billing for all IHS hospitals across Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.

28 Tribes in Nevada Alone Cannot Wait

Nevada has 28 tribal reservations, and most sit in rural, infrastructure-limited areas. Hood described the breakdown directly: “Systems don’t talk to one another. When you’re in a rural area and transferred for higher-level care, that handicaps the care at the local level.” Three barriers compound the problem: no broadband, insufficient tribal funding, and unfamiliarity with existing tools. Furthermore, many tribes hold 638 self-determination contracts, operating fully outside IHS and building their own health technology ecosystems from scratch.

Digital Health Equity Starts With Advocacy

Hood’s goal is straightforward — recruit tribal liaisons in every state. “We need to make sure that we’re taking care of our native communities,” she said. Additionally, her focus for the HIMSS Native American and Indigenous Chapter centers on reaching Our Relatives, especially elders: “to let them know that we are here for them.” Watch her full HIMSS TV Insider interview here!

As a result, Ellsworth stands alongside advocates like Brenda Hood. As a 100% Navajo-owned, ISBEE-certified Native owned small business staffing Indian Health Service facilities across Indian Country, we close care gaps one clinician at a time. Contact Ellsworth today to bring culturally competent staffing to your tribal health program.