Origins and Objectives

The Aberdeen Indian Health Service was established to serve the Indian tribes in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. IHS brings health care to approximately 104,000 Indians living in rural areas as well as the urban Indian population in Rapid City. The Area Office in Aberdeen, SD, is the administrative headquarters for thirteen service units consisting of eight hospitals and five health centers.

Indian and tribal involvement is a major objective of the program, and several tribes do assume partial or full responsibility for their own health care through contractual arrangements with the Aberdeen Area IHS. Tribally managed facilities include the Carl T. Curtis Health Center in Macy, ND, an ambulatory care and nursing home facility, and health centers in Trenton, ND, and Tama, IA.

Each health care facility incorporates a comprehensive health care delivery system. The hospitals and health centers provide inpatient and outpatient care and conduct preventive and curative clinics. Direct care and contract care expenditures are used to augment care not available in the local Indian Health Service facilities.

Objectives
Since 1955, providing for the health care of approximately 1.43 million American Indians and Alaska Natives has been the responsibility of the Indian Health Service, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency provides health care services to more than 457 federally recognized Indian tribes, tribal groups, and Alaska Natives.

The majority of the Indian population requiring IHS care live on federal Indian reservations and in small rural communities. Many of these communities are located in the western United States The Indian people in these areas frequently lack not only the knowledge, but the essentials for a healthy, productive life.

This low standard of living increases both the challenge and the opportunity for IHS and staff to fulfill our goal of raising the level of Indian health. There are numerous health problems present in unusually high proportions in Indian communities, such as alcoholism, mental health problems, poor dental health, lack of pre-natal care, and high infant mortality. Through the efforts of IHS, substantial progress has been made. In the last thirty years the mortality rate for tuberculosis has declined 96 percent and infant mortality has decreased by 83 percent.

Today the challenge for IHS and our health professionals is to provide comprehensive health care that encompasses the preventive, curative, rehabilitative, and environmental aspects of overall medical care.

Our objectives are:

• Deliver the highest quality health services possible.
• Assist tribes and Native corporations to develop their capacity to staff and manage health programs.
• Act as the federal advocate in health related matters.