News and Events
Summer 2024 Funding
Indian Health Service Funds Programs to Improve Maternity Care Coordination in the Community: The Indian Health Service (IHS) Maternal Child Health (MCH) Program is funding ten federal sites to improve maternal safety and access to care during pregnancy and postpartum. Funds will be used to increase maternity care coordination including screening, education, and intervention through telehealth and home visits, support obstetric emergency readiness training, and purchase equipment and supplies. The program will award sites across six Areas with $1 million over the next five years and the potential to reach 12,000+ pregnant and postpartum patients and their families. Congratulations to the following teams!
- Billings Area Office
- Chinle Comprehensive Care Facility – Chinle, AZ
- Colorado River Service Unit – Peach Springs and Supai, AZ
- Crownpoint Service Unit – Crownpoint, NM
- Gallup Indian Medical Center – Gallup, NM
- Great Plains Area Office
- Lawton Indian Hospital – Lawton, OK
- Northern Navajo Medical Center – Shiprock, NM
- Red Lake Hospital – Red Lake, MN
- Whiteriver Service Unit – Whiteriver, AZ
News Archive
IHS NPTC adds contraception options and RSV prevention to National Core Formulary (NCF)
The IHS National Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee (NPTC) added Opill®, the first FDA approved over-the-counter oral contraceptive (pending availability) in early 2024 and modified language to the currently-named "Medroxyprogesterone acetate, injection" to now include "Medroxyprogesterone actetate, injection (IM and SC formulations)."
NPTC also added "All ACIP-recommended long-acting monoclonal antibodies" to include nirsevimab as RSV prevention for all children under 8 months during their first RSV season as well as all American Indian and Alaska Native children ages 8-19 months during their second RSV season. An estimated 58,000 to 80,000 U.S. children under age 5, mostly infants, are hospitalized each year due to RSV. Read the CDC news release:
The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides 24/7, free, confidential support before, during, and after pregnancy. The hotline is accessible by phone or text in English and Spanish and offers interpreter services in more than 60 languages, including some Native American languages.
- The Maternal Mental Health Hotline Promotional Materials Order Form offers publications free of charge to addresses in the United States, its territories, Army Post Offices (APOs), and Fleet Post Offices (FPOs Due to printing and shipping costs, quantities are limited). If you prefer electronic, downloadable materials, visit the Hotline's Partner Toolkit page.
Shortage of Benzathine Penicillin G for Treatment for Syphilis [PDF - 147 MB — Clinical guidance from IHS' National Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee (NPTC) (May 2023)
Webinars
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium New Provider Webinar Series – designed for new providers in the Alaska Tribal Health System to gain a better understanding of the epidemiology, diagnosis and management of diseases
Funding Opportunities and Additional Webinars
For funding opportunities, additional webinars, and more news and resources, subscribe to the Maternal and Child Health LISTSERV to get the weekly MCH News email update in your inbox.
