STRATEGIC PLAN - ASPE - U.S. Department of Health and Human ...

CHAPTER 2: Health careagencies on aging, child care providers, early educationproviders, and tribal governments.American Indians and Alaska NativesHealth services are provided to American Indians andAlaska Natives through several means. In FY 2006, IHSprovided health care services directly at 33 hospitals,59 health centers, and 50 health stations and supportsessential sanitation facilities (including water supply,sewage, and solid waste disposal) for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) homes and communities. IHSprofessional staff include approximately 2,700 nurses,900 physicians, 400 engineers, 500 pharmacists, 300dentists, and 150 sanitarians. IHS also employs variousallied health professionals, such as nutritionists, healthadministrators, and medical records administrators.More than half of the IHS budget is now used toprovide funding for American Indian Tribes, tribalorganizations, and Alaska Native corporations thatchoose to contract or compact with IHS to providehealth care under the Indian Self-Determination andEducation Assistance Act of 1975 (Public Law 93-638),as amended. These entities administer 15 hospitals,221 health centers, 9 residential treatment centers, 97health stations, and 176 Alaska village clinics. BothIHS and tribal entities purchase additional health careservices from private providers. xHHS and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding toencourage cooperation and resource sharing betweenIHS and the Veterans Health Administration. The goalis to use the expertise of both organizations to deliverquality health care services and enhance the healthstatus of AI/AN veterans. An interagency advisorycommittee, involving IHS and the Office of MinorityHealth (OMH) in OPHS, identifies health disparities forAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives compared to thegeneral U.S. population.People With DisabilitiesThe four goals included in The Surgeon General’s Callto Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of Personswith Disabilities are as follows:• Increase understanding nationwide that peoplewith disabilities can lead long, healthy, andproductive lives;• Increase knowledge among health careprofessionals and provide them with tools toscreen, diagnose, and treat the whole person with adisability with dignity;• Increase awareness among people with disabilitiesof the steps they can take to develop and maintain ahealthy lifestyle; and• Increase accessible health care and supportservices to promote independence for people withdisabilities.Virtually every HHS operating and staff division hasinitiatives to support this critical effort, headed byOPHS’s Office of the Surgeon General (OSG) andOD. Moreover, a broad array of Federal agencies,including the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense,Education, Housing and Urban Development, Interior,Justice, Labor, Veterans Affairs, and the NationalScience Foundation, the Office of National DrugControl Policy, and the Social Security Administration,as well as many non-Federal stakeholders, havecommitted to pursuing these goals.Of particular note is HRSA’s effort to provide healthand community resource information and peer supportto families having children and youth with specialhealth care needs. Family-to-Family Health InformationCenters, funded under the Dylan Lee James FamilyOpportunity Act, 3 will be family-run, statewide centersin every State and the District of Columbia and willbe responsible for developing partnerships with thoseorganizations serving these children and their families.They also will be charged with monitoring the progressof programs with responsibility for payment and directservices of this population through a statewide datacollection system.3 The Dylan Lee James Family Opportunity Act was passed as aprovision to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-171).HHS Strategic Plan FY 2007-201235