Rising to the Challenge of Keeping Tribal Communities Safe and Informed

Rising to the Challenge of Keeping Tribal Communities
Safe and Informed 


 


Host Leah Lemm explores how Indian Country in MN is responding
and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.


 


On today’s show, Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) looks
at how tribal leaders and health care providers are ensuring
tribal community members are getting the care and information
they need.


 


Joining Leah is Community Health Nurse Teri Morrison, who has
lived and worked on the Bois Forte Reservation for 18 years. Teri
shares how the tribe’s emergency response team has been preparing
for crises, including viral outbreaks, for years. And Teri
emphasizes the continued importance of battling COVID fatigue, by
providing timely and accurate information.


 


We also hear from Daniel Frye, Director of Indian Health Services
in the Bemidji Area, which includes Michigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, and the urban center of Chicago. Melissa Townsend
reports on how the Indian Health Services works with tribes in
the region to manage the complex logistics of COVID testing, as
needs shift and change.  


 


At the beginning of the pandemic, we heard from Stacy Hammer, the
Director of Community Health at the Lower Sioux Health Care
Center, who spoke about how this crisis will reveal both
strengths and areas that need improvement.  We reflect on
her words, and on our gratitude to all the health care workers
helping to keep us informed and safe as we continue to encounter
all the unknowns of this COVID-19 pandemic.