The Georgia Health Policy Center (GHPC) and Seven Directions would like to welcome you to the Rural Health Link: The Rural Tribal COVID-19 Quarterly Digest. This newsletter will share program updates, the technical assistance (TA) schedule of events, as well as a variety of resources focused on COVID-19 and tribal health. Each issue will also feature a grantee spotlight article and video. We welcome your feedback. If you have any comments or recommendations for future content, please reach out to us at chsdteam@gsu.edu.
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Grantee Spotlight: Copper River Native Association
The Georgia Health Policy Center recently spoke to Jim Godin, director of health care, quality and accreditation at the Copper River Native Association and incident commander for the COVID-19 emergency response, about the Tribal health organization’s efforts to combat COVID-19.
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Quarter 5: November 2021 - January 2022
Rural Tribal COVID-19 Response (RTCR): Webinars
Children’s COVID-19 Vaccine Preparation and Booster Shot/Third Doses
Schedule for the remaining webinars for the year:
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“Grants Administration: Check in with Your HRSA Project Officers and TA Team in preparation of the closing of your RTCR Grant” on Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 2 p.m. ET. Click here to join.
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“Addressing Staff Burnout” on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 2 p.m. ET. Click here to join
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"Planning for Sustainability: Lessons Learned During COVID-19" on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at 2 p.m. ET. Click here to join.
For any questions regarding the webinar schedule, contact your assigned TA provider.
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Peer calls resumed in December. Reminder: Peer call groups were restructured during September. We organized you all into the following geographic regions:
- Alaska
- West Coast/California
- East/Plains
- Western
- Southern Plains
- Southwest
The purpose of the restructure of RTCR Peer Groups was to build stronger connections across your regions and facilitate shared learnings across communities. Peer group calls provide an opportunity for you to connect with your peers regularly in a small group format supported by a team of two Seven Direction TA providers.
For your reference here is your group information and schedule for December:
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Alaska
December 2 at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET
- Ahtna' T'aene Nene'
- Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
- Kenaitze Indian Tribe
- Mentasta Traditional Council
- Native Village of Tatitlek
- Norton Sound Health Corporation
- Southcentral Foundation
- Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium
- Village Of Aniak
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West Coast/California
December 8 at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET
- Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria
- Big Valley of Pomo Indians of the Big Valley Rancheria California
- Blue Lake Rancheria
- Colusa Indian Community Council
- K’IMA: W Medical Center
- Round Valley Indian Health Center, Inc.
- Tule River Indian Health Center, Inc.
- Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
- Yurok Tribe
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East/Plains
December 2 at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET
- Wabanaki Health And Wellness, NPC
- Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)
- Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
- Northern Arapaho Tribe
- Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate
- Rosebud Sioux Tribe
- Bighorn Valley Health Center, Inc
- Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation
- Rocky Boy Health Center
- Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
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Western
December 7 at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET
- Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon
- Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, The
- Lower Elwha Tribal Community
- Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation
- Skokomish Indian Tribe
- Squaxin Island Tribe
- Benewah Medical Center
- Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho
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Southern Plains
December 14 at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET
- Omaha Tribe of Nebraska
- Ponca Tribe of Nebraska
- Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes
- Chickasaw Nation
- Quapaw Nation
- The Cherokee Nation
- Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana
- Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc
- Sokaogan Chippewa Community
- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
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Southwest
December 1 at 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET
- Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Board, Inc.
- Tohono O'odhan Nation
- White Mountain Apache Tribe
- Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
- First Nations Community Health Source Inc.
- Pueblo Of San Felipe
- Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
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Peer Group Call Schedule for the Remainder of Year 2 (All calls are scheduled for 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET):
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Alaska: February 3, April 7
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West Coast/California: February 9, April 13
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East/Plains: February 3, April 7
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Western: February 8, April 12
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Southern Plains: February 8, April 12
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Southwest: February 8, April 12
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Year 2 Quarter 2 (Quarter 6) reports are due December 27, 2021. As a reminder, you can use your monthly calls to discuss your reports with your TA provider and get assistance with completing your quarterly reports. Additionally, you can reach out and set up a separate time to discuss your Quarterly reports with your TA provider at any time throughout the month.
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The U.S. opened COVID-19 booster shots to all adults and took the extra step of urging people 50 and older to seek one, aiming to ward off a winter surge as coronavirus cases rise even before millions of Americans travel for the holidays. Under the new rules, anyone 18 or older can choose either a Pfizer or Moderna booster six months after their last dose. For anyone who got the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the wait already was just two months, and people can mix-and-match boosters from any company. Click here to access the article.
In November, President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill deal that includes about $11 billion in benefits for Indian Country, according to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. About one-third of that, $3.5 billion, will go to the Indian Health Service, the federal agency tasked with providing health care for more than 2 million Native American and Alaska Natives. The funding is enough to address more than 1,560 projects on the agency’s list of water and sanitation deficiencies in 12 regions, estimated to cost nearly $2.6 billion. Projects in Alaska and the Southwest region that covers the Navajo Nation — where many tribal members live without running water and indoor plumbing — collectively have the largest price tags. Click here to access the article.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic on the Navajo Nation during the last day of the White House Tribal Nations Summit. Since it began reporting the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, on March 17, 2020, the Navajo Nation has reported almost 38,500 cases and over 1,500 deaths on the country’s largest Indian reservation. As the holidays approach, the Navajo Nation is urging residents on the vast reservation to limit in-person gatherings to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Click here to access the article.
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In 2020, IllumiNative and Urban Indian Health Institute partnered to develop data-driven COVID-19 vaccination messaging, leading to the development of the For the Love of Our People campaign. This campaign brings together Native health experts and creatives to provide engaging, up-to-date information about COVID-19 vaccines and other COVID-19-related topics. The For the Love of Our People campaign provides data-driven messaging and information from Native health experts about COVID-19, vaccines, and ways to stay healthy. Click here to view the campaign.
The National Congress of American Indians created a toolkit to promote COVID-19 vaccination among Native youth. The toolkit uses information from Indian Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide American Indian and Alaska Natives access to facts about COVID-19 vaccines and to provide additional resources. The toolkit also includes social media graphics and sample posts that may be shared with families, friends, schools, communities, organizations, Tribal Nations, and other networks. Click here to access the toolkit.
The Tribal Legal Preparedness Project has been established to assist Tribal Nations interested in expanding their legal preparedness capacity. Public health emergencies, including infectious disease and natural disasters, are issues that every community faces. To address these threats, it is critical for all jurisdictions to understand how law can be used to enhance public health preparedness, as well as improve coordination and collaboration across jurisdictions. As sovereign entities, Tribal governments have the authority to create their own laws and take the necessary steps to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies. Thus, legal preparedness for Tribal governments is crucial to public health response. Click here to learn more about the program.
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January 11, 2022 12:00 p.m. ET
The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration funded Rural Residency Planning and Development Program will host a webinar focused on recruiting and training health professionals for tribal communities. The webinar will demonstrate proven recruitment strategies for health professionals from and into tribal communities, discuss the value of graduate medical education programs in tribal nations, and review key topics in cultural and governance structure.
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January 26, 2022, 4:00 p.m. ET
The National Indian Health Board invites you to join us for a webinar series that will build on tribes and Tribal organization’s capabilities to address the environmental and human health impacts from the virus that causes COVID-19. The series begins on January 26, 2022 and runs periodically through June 22, 2022.
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