Health & Human Services Deputy Director
Staff:
Administrative: (509) 634-2244, Carrie Pakootas, Lori Joseph, Beverly Abrahamson, Addie Hargrove
Public Health Nurse: Crystal Stensgar
Community Health Representatives: Quail Orr, Angela Rios, Dianne Sutton, Julia Gendron, Julianne Brooks, Brenda Nee, Laurie Charette, Joleen Seyler
Health Educators: Greg Marris, Amber Seymour
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Women, Infants & Children: Sarah Wapato, C'Ann Kariores, Tolanna Drywater
Registered Dietician: Sarah Wapato
Speech Language Pathologist: Rhonda Friedlander
With great courage, integrity, and love, we embrace our responsibility to co-create a world where each of us, our tribal communities, and our planet can flourish through a healthier lifestyle.
Mission Statement : To build healthier lifestyles, cause no unnecessary harm, and inspire and build health solutions that are built on our traditional values and teachings.
Services Provided: Community Health Nursing
The Public Health Nurses (PHN) provide comprehensive community outreach services for immunizations, medical screenings, assessment, monitoring, evaluation, counseling, consultation, education, assist in discharge plans, referral to community resources and assisting clients in the optimum utilization of needed federal, state, local and private community resources. As part of their comprehensive health nursing services, they provide health promotion and disease prevention and home health care services. Additional services include case management, well child assessment, medical referrals, communicable disease control, and family planning. Nursing staff also provide family and community education, including but not limited to the following: accident and injury prevention, age appropriate nutrition, medication use, obesity evaluation/screening and referral, child seat restraint, general health education, health promotion and disease prevention, and other community health needs as needed.
Community Health Representative
The Colville Community Health Representative (CHR) program provides health care services and education to the Colville community alongside the Public Health Nurse. CHRs are required to maintain appropriate documentation (i.e., patient care component) for all patient contacts for health care and services provided by the CHR program. CHR services included, but not be limited, to the following: health education; case screening, management & coordination; patient monitoring; non-emergent patient care; transportation for general and specialty medical treatment (including off-reservation services); delivery of non-controlled substance medications; delivery of medical supplies and equipment; general health care support; elder healthcare services; health promotion and disease prevention; maternal health care; mental health support services; and translation and interpretation for non-English speaking or low literacy clients. In addition, CHRs carried out activities encompassing alcohol awareness, foot clinics, blood drive, mammogram screening, well child care, health fair, HIV Aids awareness and testing,emergency preparedness training, and tribal assistor activities (help patients sign up for health insurance).
Health Education
The Colville Health Education program will provide direction of service prioritization using tribal and Indian Health Service data, address topics that are pertinent to the tribe’s health risk trends, provide public education on proper health practices, and emphasize health promotion and disease prevention education activities to raise the level of wellness and well-being. Health educators will document activities provided into the health record database, which will be utilized to demonstrate the type and level of education services provided.
Health Education services will be provided as assigned by referral from the clinical provider and information obtained from community input. Such follow-ups have included but not limited to accident prevention, child seat restraint, general health education, health promotion and disease prevention, lifestyle issues affecting health, HIV/Aids awareness classes, and tobacco education. The content of health education classwork and individual sessions include up to date and appropriate health promotion and disease prevention information. The program is staffed by qualified health education specialists possessing applicable backgrounds in public/community health education.
WIC
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) serves low income and at nutritional risk pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children. The Colville Tribes WIC program serves all eligible people living on or adjacent to the Colville Indian Reservation. WIC clinic sites are located in Nespelem, Omak, Inchelium, Keller and Grand Coulee.
During the 3rd quarter of this fiscal year our agency had an average of 501 individuals enrolled on the program, with an average of 444 of those were receiving their monthly WIC checks. Of clients receiving checks 10% were pregnant, 6% were breastfeeding, 4% were postpartum, 21% were infants and 59% were children.
Services provided to WIC clients include nutrition education, referral to health services, breastfeeding support, anthropometric measurements and blood iron testing.
Speech Language Pathology
Identification, screenings, evaluations and assessments, referrals, therapy, consultations, home-visits, and training. Specific training for Birth-to-Three, and services to the elderly, which include but are not limited to: Stroke prevention, Aphasia and Alzheimer's screening, Hearing screenings, Swallowing (Dysphagia) evaluations and treatment. Sign language is also provided on an as-needed basis.
