By Michael Woestehoff, CEO
MPS (Navajo)
This week’s Indian health updates bring a federal funding pledge, a hospital replacement consultation, and early results from the new IHS health record, and each one shapes where clinicians will be needed next.
Kennedy Pledges $1 Billion for IHS in Bismarck
On November 5, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged $1 billion for the Indian Health Service at a Bismarck roundtable with North Dakota’s congressional delegation and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, as reported by Sydney Zatz of Valley News Live. That number sounds familiar.
In February, Kennedy announced $1 billion for IHS facilities projects starting in FY 2027, as Jeremy Grabiner of NCUIH reported. So is this an additional billion, or the same one? We might need some clarity on that. Kennedy also said about 40% of physicians who train in rural residencies stay rural.
IHS Opens Consultation on Replacing Phoenix Indian Medical Center
IHS will hold Tribal Consultation and Urban Confer on the Phoenix Indian Medical Center replacement on November 9 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, with a second session in Reno on December 1. Written comments go to consultation@ihs.gov or urbanconfer@ihs.gov by January 8, 2027.
The September 24 Dear Tribal Leader letter calls the project one of the largest on the IHS facilities construction priority list and asks Tribal leaders for input on delivery, funding, and partnerships that keep care available during and after construction.
PATH Patient Portal Shows Early Results at Lawton
The Lawton Service Unit in Oklahoma became the first IHS site on the PATH electronic health record this fall. In the first week, the patient portal sent more than 2,900 reminders and patients requested refills for more than 800 medications, according to Native News Online.
Ellsworth, a Native-owned healthcare staffing company serving IHS, Tribal and 638, and rural facilities, sees all three stories pointing to one need for clinicians ready for new systems, new buildings, and rural assignments.
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