December 5, 2015
by Ann-erika White Bird
SICANGU LAKOTA OYATE – The Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council and administration met today at 1:00 p.m. for a special meeting of Council in order to address yesterday’s decision to limit access to the emergency room at Rosebud Indian Health Services (IHS) hospital today.
Yesterday, at approximately 4 p.m., Rosebud Sioux Tribal leadership was provided with information that the Rosebud IHS hospital was going to “divert emergency services”. After a meeting with Ronald Cornelius, director for the Aberdeen Area Indian Health Services, the understanding of the elected officials was that the emergency room was going to be shut down.
Today, Council met in chambers, with the Great Plains Area Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Jackson. Dr. Jackson sat at the head of the room to discuss what he called, not a shutdown of the ER but rather a “diversion.” He stated that, “I don’t have the resources available” to provide adequate emergency care services to tribal members. He explained that the diversion was set to begin at 6 p.m. today.
Council expressed their confusion about what information needs to be conveyed to tribal members. Dr. Jackson attempted to explain the difference between a shut down and what he called a diversion. When pressed, he provided that the hospital will provide emergency services, but for instance, if there is only one doctor on staff and two people come in with an emergency, that the second person will have to be transported to another facility.
Toward the end of a five and a half hour meeting, Council Representative Kathy Wooden Knife asked her colleagues if they understood what to tell tribal members. “I will say that you need to go there at your own risk.”
Evie Espinoza, tribal health director stated that, “IHS is not sure they can provide safe, quality care to our people.” A short time later she continued, “Bottom line. Emergency care is unsafe at Rosebud IHS.”
Espinoza made an impassioned speech to the Council reflecting her nearly decade of experience in working for IHS. In her current position as primary health advocate for tribal members, she explained the repeated attempts in both positions in reaching out to IHS to express the need to provide adequate care to the people.
There was confusion whether the emergency room “diversion” was to begin at 6 a.m. or 6 p.m. today. Eric Emery, ambulance service director, spoke on the Council floor saying that they were given information that they were to send patients to other emergency room facilities at 6 a.m. this morning. The closest hospitals with emergency care, in Winner, S.D. and Valentine, N.E had no knowledge of the changes in Rosebud hospital and, according to Emery, asked why the patients were being transported there.
Dr. Jackson provided that the financial burden would be on the patient if he or she went to a hospital other than Rosebud for an emergency room visit and it didn’t meet a priority one, meaning an immediate threat to the loss of life, limb or senses. Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s Health Director Espinoza conversed with Dr. Jackson explaining that there is no way for a patient to know whether or not they are a priority one patient needing emergency room services or not, if they are in a crisis. She asked that patients experiencing any kinds of issues or having concerns to contact her.
Dr. Jackson agreed that transportation to and from other rural hospitals was going to be a financial issue for tribal members and that he would ensure that funding would be made available for transportation.
Winner’s emergency room facilities are 55 miles from Rosebud community. Valentine, Nebraska’s emergency room facilities are 44 miles away. There are approximately 28,499 enrolled members living on the reservation. Rosebud community is just one of twenty communities located on a land base of approximately 1,970 square miles.
It was made clear that at this time it is only the emergency services at the Rosebud hospital affected. All other services are still functioning as usual.
One motion was made on the Council floor later in the afternoon, to contact the South Dakota Congressional delegation and request a hearing in Washington, D.C. before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs regarding the atrocities committed by IHS. This motion passed with 12 Council representatives in favor: Sonny Farmer, Richard “Smokey” Whipple, Kathy Wooden Knife, Lila Kills In Sight, Brian Dillon, James Leader Charge, Mike Boltz, Royal Yellow Hawk, William “Bebe” Long, Rita Means, Robert Rattling Leaf and Wayne Frederick.
Council Representative Lila Kills in Sight requested a Council meeting to begin on Monday at 10:00 a.m. in order to prepare for Wednesday’s regularly scheduled Council meeting. Due to the potential dire health consequences for tribal members, Monday’s Council meeting was added and Wednesday’s meeting was cleared to only address healthcare issues. IHS headquarter leadership and the Aberdeen Area office leadership is set to be at Wednesday’s meeting to publicly address the situation and answer questions.
Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s Secretary Peneaux was asked to have the requests and suggestions made by Evie Espinoza and OJ Semans ready for Monday’s Council meeting for discussion, possible motion and vote.
Copyright Lakota Voice/Ann-erika White Bird. All rights reserved.
why know this issue should have been addressed long ago, know tribal members health is at stake, the council knows nothing about big business, did you see the televised meeting, what a joke, and where is Eric he should have been addressing the IHS rep, we need answers , Willie stay awake this time
WHY is it deemed unsafe?
Not enough staff to accommodate the patients. I thought Dr. Jackson’s quote was the clearest explanation since it seemed there were two opposite explanations. On the one hand, it’s not safe on the other hand we will still take ER patients…sort of.
Your comment is straight and forward. This is just the beginning of all 563 federally-recognized tribes’ woes. Their lack of leadership is going to be the measuring stick in the assessment by the federal government when it comes to tribes paying up what they owe. Various elected tribal councilmen members’ vision-less, non-caring leadership is going to surface during this time and at the upcoming economic/financial crisis that is about to hit the fan. Closure of ER services is only the beginning at chipping away our sovereign status and the only ones to take the blame forthright is our uninformed and uneducated leadership. Just take a look at our communities! There is no employment for the masses (certainly a handful of “showcase” tribes are excluded here, but there are so few of them who prioritize their membership e.g. Sandia Pueblo, the Colevilles, Muckleshoot), and most of the key position are held by the severely unqualified councilmen’s family, relatives, friends of their friends and associates’ family members who play games placing the recipients and program goals in harm’s way. Treaty rights or obligations of the U.S. Government are never used to leverage broken terms of these treaties as was done in the 90s by such leaders as Wendell Chino and Roger Jordain. Our leadership now have become experts in robbing tribal coffers to which they will pay dearly in time. The shutdown of ER services is to force the Native American to participate in what is termed Obamacare. This is going to be another migraine headache for the poor who cannot afford medical insurance! The Rosebud Tribal Council seems to be scrambling around for answers but will find none. Tribal membership across Indian Country needs to all wake up at the same time and smell the rotten environment to which we have been placed during our dormant state.
Need to clean house in Aberdeen South Dakota. I blew the whistle in Winnebago I.H.S. Where the leadership sent Rosebud experts to Winnebago, failed. The 2 tribes voted to remove chief medical officer, area director, Karen who came from Rosebud ER supervisor who is still at Winnebago, former acting clinical director Joshi, who later took a regular position, but works 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. Trina was a former director of nurse at Rosebud now at Aberdeen. Ronald Cornelius knew these problems, not his fault totally because his background is finance, he has no medical background, trusting people who don’t know how to fix problem. None want American Enrolled qualified staff who will report deficiencies. CMS removed Winnebago ability to bill. Removed great nurses, replaced with non-Indians who don’t care or have ties to communities. Commission corp leadership also failed at Winnebago. Now they have a corp pharmacists as acting CEO, see all they do is put some people in leadership who have no business in those positions. I was fired for making my family members clinic appointments & responding to email sent by corp Dentist Jose Rodriqyez asking who to call for concerns, because as a Dentist I as a nurse can not take orders from a dentist. My appeal is at MSPB, the other waiting for mediation. Ronald does not want me an exceptional registered nurse working in Aberdeen, but I know rules, regulations. Follow them to the exact rule. I fear for my Indian relatives, & all Indian nations in Aberdeen. I have blood family members enrolled in Rosebud. I am enrolled in the Omaha Tribe of nebraska
Read the Sioux city journal or ktiv4 news out of Sioux city iowa back in July 2015, type Archive Winnebago hospital. Read the whole CMS report.
Dr. Jackson’s answer in this article is ludicrous. Emergency rooms all over America triage and sort patients based on need, including ones in South Dakota and Wyoming, and have one one physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. These talented providers have the skills and training to treat more than one person at time and should have a supporting staff of nurses, technicians to help. Some people are treated in the emergency room and have to wait, but there are other staff members who are able to care for them while that waiting occurs. I am at a loss why this diversion is “necessary” except to bring provider staffing problems to a priority position. That is not a bad thing, just another thing and should not cause a diversion! I think the story is missing some important parts.
I’m thinking Dr. Jackson might be near retirement or resign or both.
For those who have good immune system, and are healthy, steer clear of the doctors, hospitals and medication that’s coming from India pharmaceutical companies sold as cheap generic swap outs. I get sick 2 times, every 10 years. Cold or flu. Never take flu shot. The only medication I take is a box of chough drops and chicken noodle soup modified with garlic and jalapeno peppers. Cold or flu is gone 3 – 7 days.
Want get back to nature style living, organic and natural food? Check out this tribe from Peru. Video is 2013, filmed by Yine tribe park rangers. These are the Mashco Piro. There are no doctors or hospitals down here. I’m absolutely amazed at how healthy the women, men and children look, considering they have little contact with the outside world. Roll it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuK4pE8PkXk
It has nothing to do with Obamacare. It has to do with who you elect in congress. My mother who had worked for IHS told me to get my own private insurance because when the republicans controlled congress the IHS got less money than when the democrats controlled congress.
Medicare provides multiple notices before it terminates a contract for services. What was IHS doing to respond? And how much of the Rosebud hospital’s funding was from third party Medicare and Medicaid billing? Is this why they are closing? The IHS facility that served the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska lost their Medicare certification and the tribe came out fighting. I’m sure the Rosebud Sioux Tribe will do the same.
Sorry, Winnebago. See Tonie Greve’s comment above. Two IHS facilities in the same IHS Area?