Meet Our January Nurse of the Month: Ken Vander Molen, RN
To kick off 2025, we’re profiling Ken Vander Molen. Ken is a former officer in the Army Nurse Corps, where he did two combat tours to Afghanistan working in Civil Affairs. He earned two bronze stars and a combat action badge. We saw that same courage here at Tribal Health when Ken helped launch our […]
7 Ways HR Can Support Indigenous Health
If you’re American, you’re definitely familiar with the trifecta that rules our healthcare system: patient-provider-payer. But there’s an invisible fourth player hovering at the edges and that’s Human Resources – which influences everything from our mental health to the kind of care we get to our finances. And HR can have an outsized impact on […]
Culturally Incompetent: 7 Red Flags in Patient Visits
Culturally competent care: it’s a touchstone here at Tribal Health and (hopefully) any facility that serves Indigenous patients. But while there’s intense focus on the practices that support culturally intelligent care, somehow we rarely talk about the inverse. What exactly does cultural incompetence look like? Consider the warning signs patients might detect in a provider […]
Get to Know our New Chief Operating Officer: TJ Kline
We recently named our new Chief Operating Officer: TJ Kline. TJ has a long history with the company and we are thrilled to see him step into a role where he can manage both day-to-day operations and execute transformative strategies. He talked to us about his plans for employee empowerment, new technology-driven efficiencies, and expanding […]
Dealing with the Obesity Crisis in Underserved Communities
Obesity kills 300,000 Americans annually – and more than half of the world’s population will be overweight or obese by 2035, according to a recent report. While many people think of obesity as an aesthetic concern, it carries a high clinical and economic cost. A 2022 Bipartisan Policy Center report found 2020 obesity costs hit $248 billion in annual […]
New Year, New Perspectives: Reflection with Gratitude in Native Healthcare
by Darren J. Crowe (Western Shoshone/Sicangu Lakota), MBA-Health Care Management As the 2024 year ends, I am reminded of the countless moments and colleagues that have shaped my experiences serving in the variety of progressive leadership roles I have accepted over the course of my healthcare career. Let me share why I am grateful […]
