Fort Peck Tribal Health Department 2016

Rapid HIV and HCV Testing Services

This project expanded Fort Peck’s current needle exchange program to provide testing services for HIV and hepatitis C (HCV). With 446 cases of HCV between 2011 and 2015, the HCV rates on Fort Peck are among the highest in the state and six times the national rate. HIV screenings were successfully provided at an annual community-wide screening (which was also available to non-Native community members), and the adult and juvenile correction facilities. In addition to providing screenings for injection drug users in the community, the project also successfully facilitated new collaborations with county and state health agencies including the tribal corrections facilities, the Roosevelt County Health Department, and Indian Health Services.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

24 month

2016

Fort Peck Tribes - Spotted Bull Recovery Resource Center 2016

Fort Peck Substance Abuse Inpatient Treatment Center Development Project

For this project, the Fort Peck Tribes developed business and strategic plans along with a detailed cost analysis to guide the establishment of a new inpatient chemical dependency treatment center to compliment Spotted Bull Recovery Center’s current outpatient facility on the Fort Peck Reservation. When built, the center will be able to provide inpatient treatment services to Native American patients from the Fort Peck region as well as non-Native patients and will eventually expand to include other tribes throughout the state. This planning project was successfully completed through a partnership that included the tribal action plan committee, the tribal executive board, the tribal health department, tribal courts, and the law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction on the reservation. The completed plans provided the Fort Peck Executive Committee with enough information to approve the next phase of the project.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

24 month

2016

Helena Indian Alliance 2016

Master Plan

This project resulted in the production of a preliminary architecture report that the organization will use as a guide for building renovations and for developing additional health services including dental and pharmacy. The report was also used it to seek funding for a Community Development Block Grant. Their project was not selected for block grant funding in 2018, however, they will continue looking for future opportunities.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2016

North American Indian Alliance 2016

Electronic Health Record and Revenue Cycle Optimization Project

This project helped optimize the North American Indian Alliance’s electronic health records and improved third-party revenue within the organization. The Helena Indian Alliance provided technical support in developing office procedures to ensure accountability, producing efficient managers capable of teaching staff, and building the correct measures to report progress. All of the clinical and behavioral health providers were successfully trained to use the new system and the organization is now able to successfully complete third-party billing.

Grant Amount

$15,000

Term

12 month

2016

Rocky Mountain Tribal Epidemiology Center 2016

Feasibility of Maintenance Therapy in Pregnancy Among Opioid Users in Trubal Communities

This planning grant investigated the feasibility of providing medication-assisted treatment for women on the Blackfeet Reservation who are using opioids during pregnancy. This treatment is recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as an evidence-based standard of care because it can prevent maternal and fetal complications of opioid use and withdrawal, encourage prenatal care and drug treatment, and reduce social complications and criminal activity associated with addiction. The grantee organized a conference on Blackfeet that was attended by more than 90 people. Speakers included clinicians from the Blackfeet Community Hospital, members of the Lummi Tribe, and a neonatologist from Kalispell Regional Medical Center. The conference and feedback from participants were used to generate a final report: Addressing Opioid Use in Pregnancy: Conversations and Next Steps in Blackfeet. Following the conference, members of the Blackfeet Tribe visited the Lummi Opioid Prevention and Treatment Center in WA and were inspired to consider creating a similar program on Blackfeet. They formed an opioid prevention task force which includes employees of the Blackfeet Community Hospital, Silent Warriors, Blackfeet Tribal Health, Blackfeet Community College, and other stakeholders. This task force and their opioid prevention work will continue in 2017 with new foundation funding.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2016

University of Montana - ORSP 2016

Assessing Access to Asthma Education Services

For this project, the Pharmacist Managed Asthma Clinics Program at the University of Montana-Skaggs School of Pharmacy assessed current access to asthma self-management education and determined the feasibility of multi-disciplinary, pharmacist-led managed asthma care in Montana’s American Indian communities. Survey and focus group results found that there is indeed a need for asthma self-management education in American Indian communities and health care professionals in Rocky Boy and Missoula Urban Indian Health Center expressed interest in becoming certified asthma educators. A toolkit for health care professionals was successfully developed providing statistics, educator benefits, patient and practitioner resources, and guidance for billing insurance.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2016

Blackfeet Tribal Health 2015

School and Community Based Health Services for Blackfeet Youth

This grant allowed Blackfeet Tribal Health to plan for and establish a school-based clinic to serve students in Browning. During the grant, the tribe formed a successful collaboration with the school district, secured and renovated a building to house the clinic, and hired staff. In the fall of 2016, the new clinic (named the Southern Piegan School Health and Wellness Program) began seeing students. As of late 2017, the clinic had provided care to more than 1,500 students and was preparing to implement a new integrated behavioral health program. The clinic is fully self-sustaining through revenue from insurance billing and will not require grant support to maintain operations.

Grant Amount

$20,000

Term

24 month

2015

CSKT Tribal Health Department 2015

Understanding and Utilization of Health Care Resources on the Flathead Indian Reservation

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal (CSKT) Health Department accomplished all objectives for this project. Through public law 638 they assumed the Indian Health Service budget for purchased and referred care and now manage the entirety of this program for the tribe. The grant funding allowed the CSKT Health Department to provide Medicaid and insurance outreach and enrollment services to clients of the Flathead reservations. Seven outreach events were held throughout the course of the project and enrollment in Medicaid and private insurance, employee plans, and marketplace plans continuously increased. Finally, CSKT trained providers and patients on the new coverage approach and on how to effectively use health care coverage.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2015

Fort Peck Tribal Health Department 2015

Fort Peck Needle Exchange Program

This project revived the Needle Exchange Program that operated on the Fort Peck Reservation from the summer of 2009 to January 2012 and expanded it to provide injection drug users with clean needles, education, sharps containers for safe disposal of needles, and referrals to addictions counseling if needed. As one of the first and only needle exchange programs operated in a rural reservation in the US, Fort Peck’s employed a unique and successful protocol. The project’s main goal is to reduce the transmission of blood-borne illnesses such as hepatitis C and HIV. This program successfully now serves more than 200 clients on the Fort Peck Reservation and will be sustained indefinitely through a HRSA grant.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

24 month

2015

Fort Peck Tribes Health Promotion Disease Prevention Program 2015

Staff Recruitment and Telemedicine Systems Project

This project’s goal was to develop long-term, innovative solutions to the critical shortage of health providers on the Fort Peck Reservation. The project successfully developed formal agreements with Yale Children’s Psychiatric Center and Harvard to provided behavioral health services using telemedicine, and the MSU-Bozeman School of Nursing to send students as part of their curriculum to assist in school-based health centers. Recruiting relationships for health care professionals were also strengthened with Yale, Harvard, UM and Wala Wala. With the help of more effective recruitment and retention methods, Fort Peck HPDP is better equipped to bring quality health care to their community.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

24 month

2015

Helena Indian Alliance 2015

Development of Best Practices for Excellence in Opiate Dependence Treatment

This project created a best practice manual for the treatment of opioid use disorders utilizing medication-assisted treatment (MAT). The project successfully designed and implemented a registry for capturing the treatment data of individuals suffering from opiate and methamphetamine use disorders. The purpose of the data collection is to correlate treatment approaches with long-term outcomes. While there has been a tremendous increase in MAT for opiate and other substance use disorders, there remain many important open questions about the details of treatment over an extended period and the outcomes associated with differences in treatment approach. Registries such as this can become an important tool in determining answers and molding evolving therapy.

Grant Amount

$20,000

Term

18 months

2015

Messengers for Health 2015

Traditional Relationships Improve Contemporary Health

For this project, Messengers for Health worked to broaden their cancer screening outreach program (which previously focused on women) to include colon cancer screening for men and implemented a culturally-based chronic illness self-management program. Messengers for Health is a non-profit organization on the Crow Indian Reservation and has been working in cancer screening since 1996, in partnership with Professor Suzanne Christopher at Montana State University, using a community-based participatory research framework. For the cancer screening outreach project, several Crow Indian men were successfully recruited and trained to serve as health advisors for their communities. These men helped spread the word about colorectal cancer awareness and the importance of early screening to prevent colon cancer. In addition, the chronic illness self-management project successfully began facilitating an intervention with their first group of participants. Participants attended sessions on topics including gaining a better understanding of chronic illness, promoting self-advocacy, and improving personal self-care. Antidotally, participants expressed benefits to their overall health due to the support group intervention activities. Both programs represent new areas of outreach and intervention for the Crow community.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

24 month

2015

Northern Cheyenne Tribal Board of Health 2015

Injury Prevention Project

The grant allowed the tribe to establish the Northern Cheyenne Injury Prevention Program. The grantee formed a strong coalition and provided multiple car seat safety clinics, safety checks, seat belt law awareness, and data sharing. In a major success, the coalition provided data and advocacy that ultimately supported a decision by the Tribal Council to rescind the Secondary Seat Belt Ordinance and implement a Primary Seatbelt Ordinance in September 2018. The tribe is assessing options to fund ongoing injury prevention activities, including seeking federal injury prevention funding and possibly including this program in T-HIP Tier 2.

Grant Amount

$99,453

Term

24 month

2015

Rocky Boy Health Board 2015

Centralized Coding, Billing, and Revenue Maximization Project

The goal of this project was to develop a sound administration and stable revenue base, which would allow the tribe to design and run effective, tribally-led health programs. During the course of the project, eight tribal health employees completed a coding course through Stone Child College, one patient registration clerk and two benefits coordinators were hired, three staff completed Indian Health Service third-party billing and account management training, and two staff members attended the National Indian Health Service patient registration. One year after the completion of the grant, the grantee reported an overall increase of third-party revenue of over $2 million (52.74%). 

Grant Amount

$99,608

Term

24 month

2015