Reznet

While nearly 1/3 of children in the US are overweight or obese – a rate that has tripled in adolescents and more than doubled in younger children since 1980 – the overweight/obesity rate is even higher among AI/AN children, approaching 50%.

How does a health care agency listen to patient complaints in the era of social media? Well, the easiest thing to do is to ignore complaints or to explain them away. The best practice: Treat complaints as critical nuggets of information.

I didn’t figure the Indian health system would be a huge agenda item at the Blair House bipartisan meeting last week.

President Barack Obama is hosting a health care summit Thursday at the Blair House. It will be televised live. That transparency is an ideal opportunity for the president, Democrats and Republicans to put their best ideas forward and debate different approaches to solving the health care crisis.

It takes about 30 seconds of walking around the campus of the Alaska Native Medical Center to appreciate that you are in a special place. There are values communicated in every hallway.

President Barack Obama answered an important philosophical question last week: How will the federal government fully fund a starved Indian health system?

The Native Youth Language Project will train 30 students from the Santa Fe Indian School on the use of technology tools to create digital stories and short films.

Imagine what the Indian Health Service could bring to its patients by embracing openness. Real time information, ranging from data to patient feedback, can help any organization improve results. Quickly.

Renewables on Tribal Homelands: A Rosebud Sioux Tribe Renewable Energy Conference will be held April 28-30, 2010, at the Rosebud Casino & Hotel in South Dakota.

Perhaps one reason why the massive health care reform legislation is in so much trouble is that few people understand the details. The bill is massive, complicated, and packed with official government jargon.

Honoring Nations is a national awards program that identifies, celebrates, and shares outstanding examples of tribal governance. Deadline is January 29, 2010.

Did health care reform die at the ballot box? I’ve been reading on Twitter how pleased Republicans are with Scott Brown’s win for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat. It’s a game changer.

The Indian health system is stuck in a world of conditional sentences. That’s a sentence with the phrase, “if … then.” If Congress passes health care reform, then …

The Indian health system has never had enough money – and therefore it’s essential to secure as many resources as possible in order to effectively treat the most patients.

Inauguration ceremonies will be held Jan. 7 at the Hopi Veterans Memorial Center for new tribal Chairman LeRoy N. Shingoitewa and Vice Chairman Herman Honanie.

This New Year I am experimenting, instead of resoluting. (I know, it’s not a real word. But it just sounded right.) I’m interested in how technology can play a role in behavior change, how to eat less, drink enough water, exercise more, and sleep better.

Six months after starting my exploration of health care reform, I am struck by how Indian Country is both a part of the health care debate and yet absent from its larger discussion.

The Meadows at Mystic Lake has been selected as the tenth Best Casino Golf Course in the country by Golfweek magazine.

The IHS does ration care – but that’s because it has only so much money in its budget. And, the IHS isn’t perfect with its spending, but is that also a reflection of its limited budget?

Tribal Council solicits member email addresses to enable new “community-building” website, which will include a Facebook-type social networking site, forums / discussion groups, and directories.

What do we want in a health care system? It’s a question Dr. Donald Berwick asked an audience of 5,000-plus people at the Institute for Health Care Improvement’s National Forum on Tuesday.

A proposed Settlement has been reached with American Indian Plaintiffs
in a long-running class action lawsuit against the federal government
for mismanagement of individual Indian trust accounts and trust assets.

The White House announced a settlement in the 13-year-old Cobell class-action lawsuit Tuesday.

The month of December promises to be full of drama: Will the Senate pass health care reform? Is there enough time to debate the hundreds of expected amendments before Christmas? And at the top of the wish list, are there really 60 votes to pass a bill?

Say what you like about health care reform, the fact is that Indian Country is included in a big way this time around. If either the House or the Senate bill becomes law, there will be a significant boost in resources for the Indian Health system.

In a week or so there will be a flurry of activity when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid brings a compromise bill to the floor. There will be starts and stops and a pitch for 60 votes. There may even be enough to pass a bill of some kind. But consider the process.

Every president is challenged by the nature of bureaucracy, and the agency that best reflects that power is the Office of Management and Budget.

NCAI President Jefferson Keel, along with tribal leaders, met with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi today to discuss Indian Country’s inclusion in the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Health care reform will be high on the list of topics for President Barack Obama’s meeting next Thursday with representatives of the nation’s 564 federally recognized tribes.