The Sioux San Hospital is an Indian Health Service facility in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo by Colorado National Guard Medical Detachment / Flickr
Ed. Note: The town hall takes place on Thursday, June 16. A prior version of this post had the date right but identified the wrong day of the week. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has added a town hall to its agenda in South Dakota. Staff will discuss S.2953, the Indian Health Service Accountability Act next Thursday, June 16, according to a committee notice. The briefing takes place in the 3rd Floor Meeting Room East & West at the Rapid City Administration Building, 300 Sixth Street. The following day, the committee will hold a field hearing to take testimony on the bill and to hear additional concerns about the IHS. The June 17 hearing takes place at the Central High School Auditorium, 433 Mt. Rushmore Road. S.2953 aims to improve accountability, transparency and patient care at the Indian Health Service. It is the first comprehensive effort to address deficiencies in the troubled Great Plains Area and in other parts of Indian Country. "There's no better place to learn about the challenges facing tribal members than in an area that's been plagued by one, literally, IHS disaster after another," Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota), an original co-sponsor of the bill, said of the committee's decision to hold a hearing in South Dakota. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notices:
Town Hall Meeting "Discussing S. 2953: Improving the Indian Health Service." (June 16, 2016)
Oversight/Legislative FIELD Hearing on "Improving Accountability and Quality of Care at the Indian Health Service though S. 2953." (June 17, 2016) Government Accountability Office Report:
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE: Actions Needed to Improve Oversight of Patient Wait Times (April 29, 2016) Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Report:
In Critical Condition: The urgent need to reform the Indian Health Service’s Aberdeen Area (December 2010)
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