Ellsworth Is Here to Stay Across the Great Plains and Billings Areas

Ellsworth’s new ultrasound contract at Pine Ridge IHS Hospital marks the start of a long-term commitment to the IHS Great Plains and Billings Areas, where we plan to serve Tribal communities across six states with highly qualified professionals and competitive rates.

Understanding the Great Plains and Billings Areas

The IHS Great Plains Area, headquartered in Aberdeen, South Dakota, serves approximately 130,000 Native Americans across North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa through 19 service units and seven hospitals. To the west, the IHS Billings Area serves more than 70,000 Native people across Montana and Wyoming.

An October 2025 IHS recruitment profile lists 11 Billings Area Tribes, from the Blackfeet Nation and Crow Nation to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho at Wind River. Across both regions, one open nursing, imaging, or pharmacy position can mean longer drives for families.

Pine Ridge Is Where Our Northern Plains Work Begins

Under contract 75H70627P00002, signed October 28, 2026, Ellsworth will provide up to three full-time-equivalent ultrasound technologists at Pine Ridge IHS Hospital, which serves the Oglala Lakota Nation. Performance began November 1, 2026, and with all options exercised the contract runs through October 31, 2030, according to the federal award record on USAspending.gov.

Our CEO, Michael Woestehoff (Navajo), has family roots in the Great Plains, including Rosebud, so this region is personal for us. Our technologists support emergency, inpatient, outpatient, obstetrical, and radiology care, often during moments families never forget.

Ellsworth is a Navajo-owned ISBEE whose federal customers have given it eight CPARS ratings ranging from Very Good to Exceptional, according to company records. From Pine Ridge to Browning and Fort Washakie, we will keep listening to Tribal health leaders, responding to IHS solicitations with competitive rates and highly qualified professionals, and treating every patient like a relative.

Read our Pine Ridge ultrasound contract announcement for the full story. To our partners across the Dakotas, Nebraska, Iowa, Montana, and Wyoming, we are here to stay.