IHS Awards $1 Million to National Council of Urban Indian Health for Urban Indian Education and Research Program

The Indian Health Service Office of Urban Indian Health Programs has awarded $1 million to the National Council of Urban Indian Health for the Urban Indian Education and Research Program Cooperative Agreement Supplement. Through this agreement, NCUIH will act as a COVID–19 public health support partner for OUIHP and 41 IHS-funded urban Indian organizations in 22 states, offering education and services regarding public policy; research and data; training and technical assistance; education, public relations, and marketing; and payment system reform and monitoring regulations.

“I’m proud of our urban Indian organization partners who are working tirelessly to provide extraordinary health care for urban Indian communities during these unprecedented times,” said IHS Director Rear Adm. Michael D. Weahkee. “We look forward to continuing to work with NCUIH and urban Indian organizations across Indian Country to provide COVID-19 public health support to protect and care for urban Indian patients, their families, health care providers, and staff.”

The IHS Office of Urban Indian Health Programs was established in 1976 to make health care services more accessible to urban Indians. The IHS enters into limited, competing contracts and grants with 41 non-profit urban Indian organizations to provide health care and referral services for urban Indians throughout the United States. Urban Indian organizations define their services based upon the service population, health status, and documented unmet needs of the urban Indian communities they serve. They also provide health care services for urban Indians who do not have access to the resources offered through IHS or tribally operated health care facilities because they do not live on or near a reservation. For additional information about the Office of Urban Indian Health Programs, visit https://www.ihs.gov/Urban/.

The IHS continues to work closely with our tribal and urban Indian organization partners, as well as state and local public health officials, to coordinate a comprehensive public health response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. More information on the agency’s response efforts, including vaccine planning and distribution, is available at https://www.ihs.gov/coronavirus/.

The IHS, an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  , provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 574 federally recognized tribes Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  in 37 states. Follow the agency via social media on Facebook Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  , Twitter Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov , and LinkedIn Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  .