Inspector general says reservation hospital still struggles

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A new inspector general’s report says the Indian Health Service made “significant improvements” at its hospital on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota after an abrupt closure of its emergency department, but that it was unable to sustain its improvements in staffing and leadership there.

The service closed Rosebud Hospital’s emergency department in 2015 after inspectors determined that patients were in immediate jeopardy. It reopened more than seven months later after the service brought in outside leaders for an extensive overhaul.

But the inspector general at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says those solutions “failed to fully take root” due to continued leadership and staff churn.

The Indian Health Service says it accepts all the report’s recommendations and is working to implement them.

AP-WF-07-22-19 0402GMT