Flagstaff, Ariz. • Emergency rooms shut down for months. Hospital policies put patients at risk for opioid abuse and overdoses. A longtime pediatrician was charged with sexually abusing children.
The federal agency that administers health care for Native Americans has long been plagued with problems that have kept it from improving health care delivery to the more than 2.5 million people who depend on it. Money, staffing, infrastructure, health disparities and a general lack of accountability all have played a part.
A federal report released Thursday said things won't get better unless the Indian Health Service takes a serious look at its organizational structure, which the report said fails to adequately track hospital performance and leaves workers uncertain about their roles and responsibilities.