18. May 2009 19:32
Newly appointed IHS Director Yvette Roubideaux on Friday announced that American Indian tribes will receive $500 million as part of the $787 billion economic stimulus package to fund health care projects, the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports.
According to the Press-Gazette, American Indian tribes frequently cite lack of adequate health care as a major issue on reservations. President Obama also included a $454 million increase for IHS programs in his 2010 budget proposal to address such barriers.
The $500 million includes:
- $227 million for hospital construction in Alaska and South Dakota;
- $100 million to maintain and renovate 302 medical facilities nationwide;
- $85 million for health information technology;
- $68 million for 169 sanitation projects, such as clean-water facilities, in 24 states; and
- $20 million for ambulances, CT scanners and other medical equipment.
Roubideaux said, "We know we have tremendous unmet needs in Indian Country, and these funds won't solve all of our problems, but they will move us in the right direction" (King, Green Bay
Press-Gazette, 5/16).
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