35th Anniversary Photos
View the slideshow from our 35th anniversary!
NPAIHB Celebrates 35th Anniversary
Our mission is to assist Northwest tribes to improve the health status and quality of life of member tribes and Indian people in their delivery of culturally appropriate and holistic health care.
The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB or Board) is a tribal organization as defined by Public Law 93-638 and a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that represents the forty-three Federally-recognized American Indian tribes in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Formed in 1972, NPAIHB was established to represent tribal health concerns before the Indian Health Service (IHS) and other federal and state agencies. We are proud to be celebrating thirty-five years of working toward improving the health of American Indian/Alaska Native communities, and do not take for granted all that we’ve achieved thus far.
Northwest tribes have a long shared the value of health, keeping it a high priority and committing resources to improving the health status of their people. From that, they have created an exemplary unified approach when addressing health issues affecting their communities and it is this unity that is the strength of NPAIHB. This unity is supported and facilitated by an institutional memory and trust through NPAIHB, whereby the Tribes might concede on one issue and their concession is considered on the next issue. This allows parity across time as at any given point there may be an individual cost to a tribe, however those tribes are able to keep in mind and have faith in the bigger picture. Northwest tribes, having created and supported NPAIHB through all the challenges, are truly visionary.
Over the past thirty-five years, the keys to NPAIHB’s success are: the tribal unity in Indian health issues and our organizational stability in its leadership. The governing board is comprised of a Delegate designated by the tribal government of each of the forty-three member tribes. A five-member Executive Committee works closely with the Executive Director to oversee NPAIHB activities. We have not failed to establish a quorum in nineteen years. Through a resolution process, Delegates vote to approve our activities, thereby providing tribal input on policy that is both regional and national. NPAIHB provides leadership nationally through varied and specialized, in depth workgroups.
In partnership with IHS, NPAIHB works to strengthen and improve the delivery of health services to Indian communities throughout the Northwest. NPAIHB helps identify and rank unmet health needs, then works with tribal leaders and IHS to plan on how to meet those needs. Board Delegates are progressive and participatory in setting the national agenda for American Indian health care and are nationally renowned for their knowledge and advocacy work on Indian health issues. Specifically, some of our delegates have served as Chair of National Congress of American Indian, Chair of the National Indian Health Board, director of the Native American Research Center, and several who are or have been Tribal Council Chairs for their tribes.
NPAIHB’s Strategic Plan maps our priorities, organizational values, mission, and health issues and concerns. With the competing issues to attend to, Delegates and staff use the strategic plan to hone in on issues that our Delegates have named our priority and how best to approach our goals. The document identifies our four functional areas: Health Promotion Disease Prevention, Legislative and Policy Analysis, Training and Technical Assistance, and Surveillance and Research. The document is updated every five years through a series of Strategic Planning meetings where delegates evaluate progress, reaffirm or set new priorities, and revisit the Mission. As consistent leadership has marked this organization over time, so too is that consistency reflected in the Strategic Plan and the Board’s Mission; the Strategic Plan and its defined priorities have facilitated the growth of this organization, keeping all activities true to the spirit of the intent of our founders.
NPAIHB has grown from four original contracts to approximately thirty active projects and contracts. NPAIHB also features several archived projects; descriptions of all are available on our website. While our core funding comes from the Indian Health Service PL 93-638 contract, NPAIHB seeks funds from federal and state agencies, as well as private foundations. NPAIHB currently utilizes funds from many sources, each approved via resolution from our Delegates. A current sampling of our funders include: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and Oregon State Health Department.
All policies, procedures, issue papers, and grant applications are approved by our Delegates at our Quarterly Board Meetings or via resolution. Clearly, our Delegates direct and are informed on all activities of the Board.
Advocacy
NPAIHB facilitates consultation between Northwest tribes, IHS, and state and federal agencies; provides information and political advocacy to tribes on health related legislation, regulations, and policy; and contributes to the Indian Health Service budget analysis. We have successfully educated state and federal governments on tribal sovereignty and its benefits in the areas of Medicaid, welfare reform, and health programs. This is particularly meaningful to us as national, state and local goverments as well as federal agencies have been reluctant or slow to recognize tribal sovereignty. In many cases, counties and tribal governments have often had adversarial relationships; however, we are proud of our collaborative relationships with the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Each state and their respective tribes meet quarterly to discuss upcoming legislation, concerns, and plans for improving health services to Indian communities. More and more, state and federal agencies are recognizing tribes as experts in identifying their own community needs and providing solutions that work for them.
In our role as advocate and analyst, our tribes have made great strides in the administration of Medicare and Medicaid. NPAIHB was a major author of PL 93-638 Indian Self-Determination Act 1992 amendments. We participated in the drafting of PL 94-437 Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) and remain integrally involved in the efforts to reauthorize the IHCIA.
EpiCenter
NPAIHB and Northwest Tribal leaders were key players in the conceptualization of tribal epidemiology centers seeking specific appropriations from Congress to establish such centers. In 1997 our efforts were met with success as we effectively competed for one of two grants to establish the Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (EpiCenter). Since then our EpiCenter has continued to grow and is the largest tribal epidemiology center in the nation. Our EpiCenter provides epidemiological and programmatic support on a variety of health issues and gathers extensive health data from tribes. Tribal projects that engage in capacity building at the local level have access to EpiCenter trainings in data collection and management, surveillance and support, and awareness and prevention strategies. These activities are designed to enable the local sites to continue the work of the projects independently, evaluating and customizing their own programs to best suit the needs of their communities. With the increase and improved quality of data, our tribes can better decide which health promotion and disease prevention programs to engage in.
The EpiCenter also works closely with state and federal agencies to address data and surveillance issues, including assessing how data is used, barriers and limitations of current data, and improvement of data registries to increase accuracy of such state registries that feed national registries. The EpiCenter engages in cutting edge health research, which contributes to all aspects of the Board’s four functional areas.
NPAIHB Operations
NPAIHB continues to attract some of the best talent in Indian Country with 80% staff either enrolled in or a descendant thereof a federally recognized tribe. We’ve had many staff return to work for NPAIHB after time away going to school or working for another agency; we have several staff who have contributed over ten years plus years of service; for an entity dependent on grant-funded projects – most with grant periods of one to five years, this is significant. There are several factors that can explain our highly qualified staff. NPAIHB has an excellent benefit package based in the values of Northwest Tribes. NPAIHB operations, policies and benefits are reflective of our tribes’ collective values, as demonstrated by the following policies: health care benefits for regular employees, either spouses or domestic partners, and dependents; infant children are allowed to come to work with parents until they are six months of age; wellness time; and education leave just to name a few. Moreover, staff feel appreciated by the tribes and feel their work makes a difference.
Awards include Oregon’s 100 Best Companies 2004 and 2006, the Harvard Honoring Nations Award 2005, as well as numerous individual staff awards.
Our keen appreciation for our tribes and tribal sovereignty is at the foundation of the work we do and the battle we continue to fight in the arena of Indian health. Exemplary and dedicated staff afford NPAIHB the opportunity to develop and implement award winning health projects and research. So our hats go off to the forty-three tribes of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, whose vision and dedication allow us to perform such meaningful work.
Thank you Northwest Tribes!
