July 2019 Blogs

Recognizing the 60th Anniversary of the Indian Sanitation Facilities Act

Today marks the 60^th anniversary of the signing of the Indian Sanitation Facilities Act, Public Law 86-121. This Act provides the statutory basis for the IHS Office of Environmental Health and Engineering’s Sanitation Facilities Construction Program, authorizing the Surgeon General, and now the Indian Health Service, to construct essential sanitation facilities for American Indian and Alaska Native homes and communities. IHS environmental engineers plan, design, and manage most SFC Program projects that include providing water supply, sewage disposal and solid waste disposal facilities. This simple, one-page Act helped establish what is well recognized by public health professionals as one of the most effective programs ever in improving Indian health. Additionally, by requiring consultation and encouraging active participation by tribes in project planning and implementation, the Act was a first step toward tribal self-determination for health programs.

... Continue reading

---

Medication Assisted Treatment--Closing the Treatment Gap. A Prescriber's Journey

When I started working at Gallup Indian Medical Center in 2013, I completed my training and applied for a waiver to be able to prescribe Suboxone, a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone that is used for treatment of opioid dependence, to my outpatients. I had only a limited exposure to this treatment while I worked at a syringe exchange program at a community clinic in Philadelphia during my residency, but there was a need for new prescribers.

... Continue reading

---

American Indian Medical Home: Providing an Improved Patient Experience and Level of Care

The Phoenix Indian Medical Center was accepted as an AIMH facility in December 2017. We are proud to be the first facility in the Phoenix Area accepted into the program. We went live on July 2018 in the pediatrics clinic and have now expanded to our Primary Care Medicine Clinic patients.

... Continue reading

---

Co-prescribing Naloxone with Opioids May Help Curb the Devastating Risks of Opioid Misuse

At Gallup Indian Medical Center, pain clinic pharmacists are educating the community about opioid overdose. Trained pharmacists provide voluntary naloxone education to chronic opioid patients, family members, caregivers, and anyone who is interested. GIMC pharmacists also train other health care providers and staff, as well as first responders in the community. Beyond education, both providers and pharmacists under protocol at GIMC still co-prescribe naloxone with opioids for chronic use.

... Continue reading