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Date: Monday, July 13, 1998 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: IHS Press Office (301) 443-3593
Michael H. Trujillo, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., has begun his second four-year term as director of the Indian Health Service, following unanimous confirmation by the United States Senate on June 18, with President Clinton signing the commission document on June 23, 1998.
Dr. Trujillo, a member of the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, has directed the national health care agency since 1994. With a 1998 budget of $2.1 billion and more than 14,000 employees, IHS serves more than 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, with 37 hospitals and more than 100 other health facilities in 35 states.
During Dr. Trujillo's administration, the IHS has initiated major organizational restructuring and downsizing, developed a national performance plan, and coordinated with tribal and urban Indian leaders the development of a budget based on health priorities.
Dr. Trujillo established nine health initiatives to focus on traditional medicine, children and adolescent health, Indian elder care, Indian women's health, injury prevention, domestic violence and child abuse prevention, health care financing, state health initiatives, and sanitation facilities.
He has also promoted a collaborative approach with other organizations that are interested in Indian health, forming "Friends of Indian Health," a 31-member consortium of professional societies that assist the agency in advocating for the health needs of Indian people.
"We need to share solutions and to collaborate with others on intervention strategies to raise the health status of Indian people and their communities," Dr. Trujillo said.
He has also made new efforts to address broad quality of life issues affecting American Indian and Alaska Native youth by initiating a multi-agency approach. The approach encompasses the physical, mental, social, environmental, economic, cultural, and spiritual well-being of American Indian and Alaska Native children and adolescents. Two themes are to ensure a safe and healthy home and community for Indian youth and to ensure the permanent development of Indian youth within the context of developing Indian communities where they live.
The IHS is also an important component of President Clinton's Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Initiative, which has set a goal of eliminating, by 2010, six serious racial and ethnic disparities in health. This includes disparities in infant mortality, cancer screening and management, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and immunization.