Patrick Anderson

panderson@argusleader.com

Federal officials are overhauling leadership at some of South Dakota’s Native American hospitals in an effort to improve the quality of health care on reservations, according to a Monday letter to tribal leaders.

The low quality of care available to Native Americans on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations is driving patients away, and the problem has caught the attention of both state and federal lawmakers.

Federal officials have appointed an interim director for the Great Plains Area Indian Health Service, and will send in extra staff to help with management and quality control, according to a letter from Robert McSwain, principal deputy director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Rear Adm. Kevin Meeks, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, will take over Feb. 8 as acting area director of the Great Plains Area IHS

He replaces Ron Cornelius, who has been temporarily reassigned, according to the letter. Meeks will take over as federal officials hunt for a permanent replacement.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard has proposed expanding Medicaid in South Dakota, a measure that would expand health care coverage to about 50,000 South Dakotans. Daugaard’s plan would require the federal government to pay the health care costs of Native American’s who to hospitals outside of the IHS.

U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem said reservation health care was in an “emergency situation” on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations, in a January interview with Argus Leader Media.

State Rep. Paula Hawks criticized Noem earlier Monday for not doing enough to support IHS reforms. Hawks is running against Noem for the U.S. House seat as a Democratic challenger.