PROCEDURE.  Personnel planning trips to Area/Program Offices or other field installations of the Indian Health Service are requested to submit their request for travel to the Associate Director for Administration, IHS, 10 working days in advance of such proposed visit.  The request should include the name of the traveler, place, date and purpose of visit (see attached example).  This information will enable the IHS to better coordinate visits to Area Program Offices -and to arrange visit schedules with concern for the workload and plans of Area Offices.  This will also permit other Headquarters’ Divisions and Offices to use the traveler in carrying out-assignments for them.

The Associate Director for Administration, IHS, will circulate this schedule to each Division and Office Director.

Notification to the Area/Program Offices should be made at least a week in advance of the trip.  Memorandum of notification may be signed by the Director or Chief of Division: Office or Branch for employees of the IHS.  In those instances where non-IHS employees are authorized to make visits to IHS Area/Program Offices the IHS Official coordinating such visit shall prepare a memorandum of notification to the Area for the signature of the Director, IHS, or his designate.

 

MEMORANDUM

INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE

Public Health Service

(Signature)

DISCUSSION

Over the past several months, most Area Directors have expressed concern about how some Headquarters staff conduct business at the Area level.  Of particular concern is the failure to provide the Area Director with advanced notice and purpose of the visit.  Certain Headquarters staff are mentioned more frequently, and I will communicate directly with the appropriate Associate Director about them.

As IHS Headquarters has assumed more Agency oversight responsibilities, careful coordination with the Area Directors has become imperative.  In the reorganization of IHS from a Bureau to an Agency, it was envisioned that the Area Offices would assume the organizational level of "Bureaus", and the Area Directors would assume bureau director status, enhancing their line authority and responsibilities for the management and operations of their respective Areas.

Headquarters staff have several responsibilities that must be carried out for our central mission when working with the Areas:

 

When Headquarters Staff visit Area Offices, Service Units, Tribal or Urban programs, they will provide the Area Director advance notice and purpose of their visit. Headquarters travel will clearly provide "value added" support to the IHS mission, including oversight functions. Headquarters staff will conduct a closeout conference with the Area Director or his/her designee, and, within 2 weeks, provide the Area Director a written trip report highlighting contacts, discussions held, actions taken, recommended actions, and status of followup and action.

When planning site visits with your Division Directors, please stress the importance of targeting objectives to be accomplished during the site visit, the necessary contacts before and after with the Area Director or his/her designee, and the written report.

Before we agree on a final policy, we will have ample time to discuss exactly what the policy should contain.  But, for the present please use this as an interim policy.