February 2011 Blogs

Update: White House Tribal Nations Conference

Kimberly Teehee, the Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs, White House Domestic Policy Council, posted a blog today Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  with an update on the recent White House Tribal Nations Conference that includes a link to a synopsis of the discussion at the conference.

Tribal Delegation Meeting: Maniilaq Association

I met with the Maniilaq Association, a tribally operated non-profit organization that is governed by twelve tribes located in northwest Alaska. I was impressed by their progress on building an 18 bed Long Term Care facility for their elders. Here's a picture from our meeting:

FY2012 President's Budget Request

President Obama sent his FY2012 Budget Request to Congress today. It included a request for the Indian Health Service of $4.6 billion in FY2012, a $571 million increase over the FY2010 enacted budget (14% increase). For more information, please see the FY2012 IHS Budget Justification. Here’s a picture from Secretary’s Sebelius’ press conference today:

HHS Photo by Chris Smith

Tribal Delegation Meeting with Three Affiliated Tribes

I met with the Three Affiliated Tribes – Fort Berthold Reservation on Tuesday, February 08, 2011.  Chairman Tex Hall and his staff discussed issues related to the construction of their new health facility and the status of the IHS budget. Here’s a picture from the meeting:

Consultation on Draft Data Sharing Agreement

IHS has worked with the Tribal Epidemiology Centers to develop a draft data sharing agreement to enable the exchange of health data between IHS and Tribal Epidemiology Centers. I recently sent a letter to Tribes requesting a consultation and input on the draft document.  Please see the letter [PDF - 91K] for more information. Comments are due by March 24, 2011.

Consultation on the Special Diabetes Program for Indians

I recently met with the Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee (TLDC) and discussed the recent 2-year extension of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians. The TLDC recommended that the distribution of the funding for this successful initiative remain the same for the short time period for the extension and that we move to a continuation process rather than a competitive process for grant renewals. Here is a copy of the letter [PDF - 148K] sent to Tribes requesting a consultation on the TLDC’s recommendation. Comments are due by the end of February to allow time to ensure grant funding continues in a timely manner. The letter includes a summary of the current distribution and a listing of the TLDC members and their technical advisors.