This page intentionally left blank.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES Martha Ketcher, MBA, HCM Acting <strong>Area</strong> Director <strong>Area</strong> Director The <strong>Nashville</strong> <strong>Area</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Service</strong>, the most geographically diverse <strong>Area</strong> within the <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Service</strong> (IHS), has as its top priority delivering the highest quality health care to the Native Americans we serve. In our pursuit of promoting delivery of quality health care to the 29 Tribes/Nations and 52,000 Native Americans we serve, we have embarked on new technologies such as tele-health (tele-psychiatry and tele-dermatology), the electronic health record, Facebook, and a completely revised <strong>Nashville</strong> <strong>Area</strong> website (www.ihs.gov/<strong>Nashville</strong>). We also helped promote increased access to the high quality health care that is being provided throughout the <strong>Area</strong>, first by opening a new federally-operated comprehensive outpatient facility in Massachusetts, followed by expanding Contract <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Service</strong> (CHS) priorities to allow patients to seek advanced specialty care (resulting in a 47% increase in services provided through CHS). We have aligned our projects and initiatives with our Agency missions and priorities to ensure success and promote the IHS mission “to raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American <strong>Indian</strong>s and Alaska Natives to the highest level.” Our Agency priorities, upon which our work is based, are as follows: 1. To renew and strengthen our partnership with Tribes. 2. To bring reform to IHS. 3. To improve the quality of and access to care. 4. To make all of our work transparent, accountable, fair and inclusive. 2010 IHS Director’s Award Recipient Our commitment to renew and strengthen our partnerships with Tribes include the housing of a new CHS program for the Tuscarora Nation of New York, staffing of the health clinic in Massachusetts, and partnering with the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) to expand the knowledge of the <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Health</strong> Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) Re-Authorization. To address the second Agency priority to bring reform to the IHS, we have worked to reduce the hiring time of federal hires, promoting improved recruitment and retention of quality healthcare providers and administrators. We have improved the quality of and access to care with the expansion of CHS priorities from Level I (emergency, “life or limb”) services to Level III services, allowing patients to undergo surgical procedures, receive eyeglasses and advanced dentistry services. We have also addressed this Agency priority through an emphasis on ensuring federal suitability for health care providers through validation of Office of the Inspector General (OIG) exclusion lists. Finally, to make our work transparent, accountable, fair, and inclusive, we publish this annual report and provide periodic updates to both our internal and external customers. We hope you find our <strong>2011</strong> <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> both informative and beneficial. We welcome any feedback you may have. On behalf of all of the staff of the <strong>Nashville</strong> <strong>Area</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Service</strong>, I would like to thank you for your support of our programs in <strong>2011</strong>, and we look forward to another great year in 2012! <strong>Nashville</strong> <strong>Area</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Service</strong> www.facebook.com/IHSNAO 5