Organizational Capacity
Management and Administrative Structure of the NPAIHB
Offices: The NPAIHB administrative office is located in downtown Portland, Oregon adjacent to the Portland State University campus and less than a mile from the Oregon Health & Science University’s main campus. The NPAIHB office is also conveniently located approximately two miles from the Portland Area Indian Health Service office, and is within five miles of the Bureau of Indian Affairs office. It is easily accessed via freeway or light rail. The 16,000 sq. ft. office facility is equipped with high-speed internet access and other equipment selected with consideration of environmental impact; it has a fully operational local area network (LAN), wireless access, a comprehensive website with weekly postings of announcements and information related to Board concerns and a computer integrated phone system. An electronic records training room accommodates 24 students per session. An open floor plan is complemented by 6 meeting rooms of various sizes.
Administrative System: The NPAIHB organizational chart outlines the managerial structure. The Executive Director is responsible for all staff and programs of the NPAIHB and answers directly to a five person Executive Committee elected by NPAIHB delegates. A Management Team, consisting of the Executive Director, Administrative Officer, Policy Analyst, Health Resources Coordinator, IT Administrator and Tribal EpiCenter Director acts in an advisory capacity to the Executive Director, and assists in research and development of organizational policy and practices. The NPAIHB Strategic Plan maps priorities, organizational values, mission, and health issues and concerns, and is updated by the Board every five years through a two-year process. The Policy Analyst, the Northwest Tribal EpiCenter and other staff and projects work to advance achievement of the goals of the Strategic Plan.
Fiscal Management System: The finance department is staffed by a Business Manager, Fund Accounting Manager, and an Accounts Payable and Payroll Specialist. A Grants Administrator works closely with the Fund Accounting Manager in setting and reviewing budgets with project directors. All purchases are authorized and all payments are processed utilizing forms that must be signed by the project director, certified that budgeted funds are available by a finance department Manager, and approved by the Executive Director. The Board utilizes an software fund accounting system designed to meet the informational and reporting requirements of the NPAIHB and its funders. Payroll is processed electronically through a payroll contractor. The Board undergoes an annual external audit in compliance with the Single Audit Act and OMB A-133.
Organizational Capacity: The Board is staffed with approximately 45 individuals, the majority of whom have BA/BS or advanced degrees and training to meet the needs of diverse activities provided to the tribal health programs of the 43 NPAIHB member tribes. The EpiCenter has four core purposes: Administrative, Data Management/Analysis, Training, and Research.
From early in the history of the NPAIHB, the Northwest Tribes recognized that data, surveillance, and research were central to building awareness about health disparities afflicting American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Northwest Tribal EpiCenter has successfully engaged Northwest tribes in collaborative research and surveillance activities and, as a result, serves as an essential resource for these tribes for tribal health data and health information services support, including capacity building. All data from such activities belong to the tribes involved in the research. In addition, the NPAIHB hosts the Portland Area IHS Institutional Review Board (IRB), which oversees protection of human subjects in research occurring in Northwest Indian communities.
Over 190,000 American Indians/Alaska Natives reside in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, representing 6.3 percent of the United State’s American Indian/Alaska Native population. The tribes of the Northwest vary in population size, culture, and geographic location. Many of the Indian reservations in the Northwest are located in isolated areas with sparse populations. Indian health care delivery faces many unique challenges and American Indian communities frequently lag behind their non-Indian neighbors in receiving basic health services. Further, rates for many infectious and chronic diseases in Northwest tribes far exceed rates for whites (Sugarman et al, 1996; Grossman et al, 1994; Puukka et al, 2005). One of the roles of the NPAIHB is to provide clinic-based data to the tribes to help them prioritize the acute and chronic disease problems that challenge them.
