Winter 2004
Winter 2004
Gov. Judy Martz has appointed a tribal subcommittee of the Montana Public Health Advisory Council to help the state redesign its $550 million Medicaid program. The 2003 Legislature called for the redesign in response to a rapid increase in the number of people eligible for Medicaid and a doubling of the program's cost over the past decade.
The subcommittee has met twice so far and will continue to meet monthly until April or May. Anyone interested is welcome to attend. The subcommittee will be invited to make comments and suggestions and express ideas and concerns about the current Medicaid program and efforts by the Dept. of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to make it more efficient.
Members of the subcommittee are:
Craig Chandler, Harlem Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, Box Elder
Mallory Real Bird, Crow Agency Merle Peterson, Poplar
Mary Ellen LaFromboise, Browning Ed Lavenger, Great Falls
Marian Scofield, Billings Garfield Little Light, Billings
Ernest Bighorn, Miles City D.J. Lott, Great Falls
For more information about the Medicaid redesign, contact Peter Blouke, project director, at 444-3709 or pblouke@mt.gov ; or John Chappuis, DPHHS deputy director, at 444-4084 or jchappuis@mt.gov .
Two Tribes Get Funding to Assess Environmental Health Needs
The Crow Health Board and the Fort Peck Tribal Health Dept. have been offered awards of $12,000 each to determine the environmental health needs of the tribes they serve.
The money is being made available by the Environmental Public Health Tracking Project, a program of DPHHS, following a request for proposals last August. The two health groups will use the money to solicit information from their communities about the health and safety of their environments, including food and water supplies. The project will provide training and technical assistance, as well as funding, to the participating tribes.
The information collected by the two tribal health groups will be incorporated into a statewide
environmental health assessment that DPHHS is conducting.
For more information, contact Marjean Magraw, coordinator of the Environmental Public Health Tracking Project, at 444-4871, or mmagraw@mt.gov .
DPHHS Forms Environmental Public Health Tracking Advisory Group
The Environmental Public Health Tracking Project has convened an advisory group to make recommendations to the project team as it assesses environmental impacts on Montanans' health.
The group meets quarterly and will hold its fourth meeting Feb. 26 from 9 a.m. to noon in Room C-209 of the Cogswell Building, 1400 Broadway, in Helena.
Members of the 50-member committee include Gordon Belcourt, executive director of the Tribal Leaders Council, Billings; Gary W. Carter, environmental health officer with the Indian Health Service, Billings; and James Eastlick, chief executive officer of the Rocky Boy Tribal Health Center. Tribal health directors are invited to suggest additional members to represent their tribes.
Anyone interested in learning more about the advisory group should contact Marjean Magraw, coordinator of the Environmental Public Health Tracking Project, at 444-4871 or mmagraw@mt.gov .
Tribes to Participate in Border Security Conference
Members of Montana and Canadian tribes will be invited to participate in a conference on border security to be held in Whitefish in May.
The conference, co-sponsored by DPHHS and the U.S. Attorney's Office, will include representatives of the FBI, Border Patrol, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and emergency responders and hospital staff from British Columbia, Alberta, Montana, and the Blackfeet Nation.
The conference will focus on how to coordinate public health and emergency preparedness efforts to ensure a secure international border. A dinner and roundtable discussion are planned for tribal officials and representatives of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A similar conference will be held in August with officials from Montana and Saskatchewan.
DPHHS plans to provide $30,000 to each landed tribe in Montana this year for planning and preparedness activities related to public health.
For more information, contact Sally Johnson, manager of the Emergency Preparedness Section of DPHHS, at 444-4016 or sajohnson@mt.gov .
Project to Identify New Sources of Federal Funding for Tribes
The newly created DPHHS Office of Program Finance has initiated a project to identify sources of tribal money that may be used to leverage additional federal funds for use by the tribes.
Program officials sent a letter to tribal leaders in December offering to send a team to tribal headquarters at no cost to explore the possibility of revenue maximization. The team would spend two or three days reviewing budgets, funding streams, and cost allocation plans in an attempt to identify opportunities for cost savings or receipt of additional federal dollars.
If the team determines that there is an opportunity to maximize revenue, DPHHS will offer to enter jointly with the tribe into a contract with a consulting firm to take whatever steps are necessary to do so. So far, the Fort Peck and Crow tribes have indicated interest in the program, and DPHHS officials are working with the Fort Peck tribe to set up a date for the team visit.
For more information, contact Gail Clifford, acting administrator of the Office of Program Finance, at 444-2584 or gclifford@mt.gov .
DPHHS Offers Help Getting Grants for Tribal Health Centers
The Montana Primary Care Association, along with the DPHHS Primary Care Office, have offered to assist tribes interested in getting federal grants for community health centers. To be eligible for the grants, the area or population must be designated by the federal government as medically underserved.
At a meeting in November, representatives of the Flathead, Rocky Boys, Blackfeet, Northern Cheyenne, and Fort Peck reservations expressed interest in pursuing the grants.
For more information, contact Marge Levine, health care specialist with the Primary Care Office, at 444-4748 or mlevine@mt.gov .
Diabetes Workshop to Be Held in Billings
The Montana Diabetes Project, in collaboration with the Billings Area Indian Health Service (IHS) and the Tribal and IHS Diabetes Programs, will sponsor a workshop for diabetes outreach workers April 20-21 in Billings.
The 1½-day workshop will be held at the Mansfield Health Education Center at St. Vincent Healthcare, 1233 N. 30 th St. It will include interactive sessions on screening for diabetes and pre-
diabetes, blood pressure and diabetes, foot care for people with diabetes, targets for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and smoking cessation approaches.
The agenda for the workshop was developed with extensive feedback and recommendations from the tribal and IHS diabetes workers and coordinators. Invitations and additional information will be sent out soon.
For more information, contact Susan Day, project assistant, at 444-6677 or sday@mt.gov .
Workshop on Federal Disability Benefits to Be Held at Rocky Boy
A workshop on federal benefits for people with disabilities will be held March 25-26 in the Chippewa Cree Tribal Chambers in Rocky Boy.
Sponsored by the Disability Services Division of DPHHS in cooperation with the Chippewa Cree Health Center, the workshop will cover Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, disability benefits, and veterans' benefits. This will be the fourth in a series of such workshops held at the invitation of Montana tribes.
For more information, including an agenda, contact Renita Watson, Chippewa Creek Health Center, at 395-4194, or Roger Ala, Disabilities Determination Services of DPHHS, at 1-800-545-3054 or rala@mt.gov .
Tribes Get Money to Control Tobacco Use
The state has allocated $80,000 to each Montana tribe to institute a tobacco prevention and control program under the guidance of the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program (MTUPP).
The funding will be used only to prevent the abuse of commercial tobacco or tobacco-for-profit products. MTUPP, a program of DPHHS, understands, respects and supports the traditional, ceremonial and sacred uses of tobacco by Montana tribes.
Each tribe has received an initial payment of $24,000. The remaining $56,000 will be awarded as contract negotiations are completed with DPHHS/MTUPP. The contracts will run from Dec. 15, 2003, to June 30, 2004. DPHHS/MTUPP will create an American Indian work group, made up of representatives from each of the tribes, to help it administer the program.
For more information, contact Georgiana Gulden, MTUPP program manager, at 444-9617 or ggulden@mt.gov .
