Delegation Meets With Indian Health Service Director Nominee
Delegation expresses concern about Great Plains IHS facilities, necessary steps for improvement
U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) today met with Robert Weaver, the president’s nominee to be director of Indian Health Service (IHS). Weaver, who was nominated for the position in October, has nearly two decades of experience in hospital, mental health administration, and entrepreneurship. Weaver is a member of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma and is currently a consultative representative to U.S. Government Relations for his tribe in the area of health care.
“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with Mr. Weaver today,” said Rounds. “For years, Indian Health Service has failed to fulfill its trust and treaty obligation to provide adequate health care to tribal members. The quality of care at IHS facilities in the Great Plains Region is simply unacceptable. During our meeting, we had the chance to talk about my proposed legislation to require an assessment of the financial, administrative and quality problems at the agency, and I was pleased that he agrees on the necessity of such an assessment. He also agreed on the importance of consultation with tribal leaders. If confirmed, I look forward to working with him and tribal leaders to identify and fix the many problems at IHS.”
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