5 Lessons from the Native American Vaccine Rollout
The story of COVID-19 is a kaleidoscopic one, shifting in color and shape to reflect each patient’s background. There is no single narrative that describes the pandemic experience. Economics, ideology, and population health all play a role, with much ink and airtime devoted to the nuances driving infection rates and outcomes. The same holds true […]
Bringing Specialty Care to Tribal Health
Of all the challenges facing Indigenous health facilities, one of the biggest is the lack of specialty care in tribal health. Remote locations, high turnover, and budget shortfalls all lead to a common scenario: a facility without the right clinical expertise. Urban patients have their choice of 263 specialists for every 100,000 people; rural residents […]
Solving Healthcare Process Barriers at Tribal Facilities
From limited resources to a lack of adequate staffing, tribal hospitals and clinics face numerous challenges. The resulting healthcare process barriers often lead not only to poor patient outcomes, but sometimes forced closure and loss of access to care in the greater community. The good news: staff can improve their care delivery – and population […]
South Dakota Assignments: Fun Things to Do
When you bring medical care to IHS facilities on a South Dakota assignment, you enjoy an exciting opportunity to improve healthcare for underserved tribal communities. It’s hard but rewarding work in the heart of the Midwest. While on assignment, we have some suggestions to make the most of your free time. Here you’ll find a […]
Building Clinician Diversity: Helping Indigenous Communities Take the Healthcare Reins
One of the most pressing issues in tribal healthcare is the extreme shortfall of Native American providers and lack of clinician diversity. The Association of American Medical Colleges reports that fewer than 1% of students identify as American Indian or Alaska Native. Not surprisingly, physician vacancy rates are nearly 30% in some areas of Indian […]
Clinical Oversight Transforms Care at Tribal Hospitals
Providers at Native American health facilities face an overwhelming number of problems. Clinician shortages, outdated technology, a scarcity of necessary supplies and resources, lack of clinical oversight, and inadequate funding are major barriers to quality patient care. But Tribal EM is out to change all that. When CEO and founder, John Shufeldt, MD, first began […]
