On Friday’s edition of Native News Online’s Native Bidaské (Spotlight), editor Levi Rickert and staff reporter Jenna Kunze were joined by Indian Health Service (IHS) Director Roselyn Tso to discuss her position with IHS and the plans she has to improve IHS.
Tso (Diné) was sworn in as the director of IHS on September 27, 2022. Since her swearing in, she has been busy touring across the country to visit various IHS health care facilities. On Monday, Tso will fulfill her promise to visit all 12 IHS regions within 45 business days of being sworn in as director when she visits Bemidji IHS facilities in Minnesota.
“I honestly believe that we have some of the great employees within the Indian Health Service. They took on roles and responsibilities that were beyond anything that we were requiring of people. When people take it on for themselves they are going to take it to the highest level,” Tso explains. “I really have to give a shout out to the Indian Health Service Team.”
Tso provided an account of how the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Navajo Nation and how she helped to navigate the nation’s largest Indian reservation when she led the IHS regional office that serves the Navajo Nation.
This edition of Native Bidaské is part of Native News Online’s commitment to shedding light on health care issues in Indian Country.
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