i
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
M3y 12, 2005
Page9
TRAIL
In the fall of 2004 the
TRAIL program expanded from
the original six pilot club sites to
a total of 25 participating clubs
in 15 states. TRAIL stands for
Together Raising Awareness for
Indian Life
Each of the 25 Native
American Boys and Girls Club
sites received the following to
implement the trail program:
Indian I lealth Service; pass
through grant from the National
Congress of American Indians
to fund operations for one year.
Also: an evaluated program cur
riculum, training and on-going
technical assistance; and
NikcGo product grant.
The TRAIL program is
aimed at reducing the onset of
diabetes among Native Ameri
can youth through an innova
tive combination of physical,
educational and nutritional ac
tivities. TRAIL is a six-month (1 2
sessions) incentive-based pro
gram that provides youth with
a comprehensive understanding
of healthy lifestyles in order to
IRMP: to guide
residential
development
(Continued from page 3)
The response to the outline
among the planning group, called
the ID Team, was, to a person,
positive.
IRMP will address how resi
dential areas are planned and
maintained, what type of utility
services and facilities are pro
vided, how transportation is de
veloped and maintained, how a
telecommunications system can
be designed, how cultural, his-
. torical and archaeological re
sources are managed, how natu
ral resources within the commu
nity are managed, if the com-
. munity areas have room for
I recreatioftal or open-space, y
where industrial and co'mmcr-
cial facilities should be located
within the community, and zon-
Survey: comments
in various areas
(Continued from page 8)
In addition to the survey re
sults above, 11 pages of com
ments were gathered. These
comments were categorized so
that'we could decide what it was
we needed to improve. Here
they are with a brief descrip
tion of what we are doing about
them:
Waiting time issues - 53 com
ments (30 for medical clinic, four
for dental, two for pharmacy, and
two overall).
We analyzed this and found
that many of the waiting time
issues were due to an increas
ing number of walk-in patients
who generally spend a little more
time waiting than patients who
phone-in for appointments.
When we asked why patients
weti, walking in instead of call
ing, we were told that long waits
on the phone and a limited num
ber of available appointments
were the reason (see phone is
sues below).
Positive comments 36 com
ments. We are thankful that our
customers who are happy with
the services were walling to say
this on our survey. Thanks.
Phone issues 24 comments.
We have had our first phone
service improvement meeting,
and all issues were discussed,
including how we handle calls
that come in, the phone system
itself, how many people we need
to answer the increasing num
ber of calls that we get, and how
to assess specifically where the
problems are. We have con
ducted a study to look at how
long a person waits on the
phone to speak to a nurse, and
we are well on our way to im
promotes
C if i M - '
Kasheena Stevens and Koedy
Club TRAIL program.
prevent diabetes.
The program is presented
with four themes: About Me
and My Health; Diabetes and
Nutrition; Making Smart I 'bod
Choices; and Sharing Knowledge
with Others.
ing the community areas.
"We're focusing on Warm
Springs and the Simnasho com
munity," said Ixmny Macy, policy
and planning manager at Natu
ral Resources and the team
leader for the IRMP III effort.
"IRMP III is a priority this year.
We have Tribal Council's au
thority to move ahead on this."
I le said that when the plan is
completed and approved by the
Tribal Council, it will be an au
thoritative guideline, giving di
rection to any future projects
within community areas. As with
IRMPs I and II, provisions
would be made to revise IRMP
III in a five-year period.
"To some extent, as with
IRMP I, the Council wants to
make it long-term," Macy said.,.
But the plan would also allow
ft
br evaluation of certain parts
over time "to see what works
and what doesn't."
proving this. Stay tuned, and
please continue to give us your
feedback.
Staff attitude - 24 com
ments. We have held several cus
tomer service trainings, and are
attempting to educate our staff
about how their attitudes affect
our patients. We will continue to
take these comments very seri
ously and will continue to pro
vide training to the staff.
Not seen by designated (pri
mary) provider 18 comments.
Everyone in our patient popu
lation has a designated provider
(DP). Sometimes, however, the
DP is at the hospital, at continu
ing education training, or has
their schedule booked for the
day. In situations like this, ap
pointments are offered with Dr.
Hoffman or Dave Caulfield,
Nurse Practitioner. These two
providers see patients with ur
gent needs and then will refer
you back to your DP for chronic
conditions. It is almost impos
sible to see your DP every time
you come to the clinic, but we
are continuing to look at our
schedules to make it more likely
that you will see your provider.
Too many non-tribal members
-14 comments. The Indian
Health Service eligibility regu
lations determine who we will
see at the Warm Springs facil
ity. Members of federally rec
ognized tribes and their descen
dants are eligible for direct ser
vices that are provided at the
clinic.
There are other ways that
you can let us know how we are
doing, and we encourage you to
use them. First, put a sugges
tion in our suggestion box, lo
cated outside the managed care
office. This is for any sugges
healthy
Photo oouittty of tht Boy wd Oirtl Club
Florendo, of the Boys and Girls
The program emphasizes the
importance of teamwork and
community service. Participants
apply decision-making and goal
setting skills and engage in ser
vice projects to improve healthy
lifestyles in their communities.
Macy and four other planners
from Natural Resources have
been meeting each week to put
the draft document together.
As the full ID Team has been
convened, Macy said that per
haps those weekly meetings
could involve different members
of the at-large group, and theme
meetings around different areas
that IRMP III will address, in
cluding cultural resources or
housing.
"We started some of this
years ago, anu we neeueu some
thing to pull all this together,"
said Clay Penhollow of Natural
Resources, who has been work
ing on the project.
Macy suggested smaller
ornims arnnnff nlannrrs (mm
,cc . ...
the ID team meeting and then
having the larger group convene
again to compare notes.
tion concerning your health
care.
Second, make an appoint
ment to visit with Michele
Gemelas, quality improvement
coordinator, or leave her a note.
Some of you have done this and
various changes in the clinic
have been make because of
things that our customers have
brought to our attention.
Thank you to all for being
patient with us at the Warm
Springs Health and Wellness
Center as we continue to work
toward excellence. Also, thank
you to everyone who helped
administer the survey and espe
cially to all our customers who
completed them. All your com
ments have helped us to under
stand your needs even better,
and we encourage you to con
tinue letting us know how you
feel about our services.
OFFICE NOW OPEN THRU LUNCH
glU.',M.'IIIJ.t'jll:U','M:i;n!fi'rti'iMI'm,lM!fji
i i iiiiiii
lifestyles
Community and family mem
bers participate in activities with
elementary aged club members.
We would also welcome and
encourage any eight to 10 year
old children who would like to
participate in the program.
Activities provided to the
club members include the fol
lowing: Nike incentive products for
class participation; field trips and
other fun activities; Kids Day
Powwow, June 10; working with
diabetes and nutrition program
at the Warm Springs I lealth and
Wellness Center.
Services provided to the
community by club members
include the following:
Healthy snacks delivered to
various tribal programs and en
terprises by the club members
to promote healthy nutrition and
diabetes awareness; a commu
nity garden, and a fun runwalk.
For more information on this
program, contact Jocelyn Moses
at 553-3161.
Mini powwow
at Pendleton
There will be a culture fair
and mini powwow at the
Sunridge Middle School in
Pendleton on May 21st at noon.
Everyone is welcome. The
Sunridge Middle School is at
700 SW Runnion Ave.,
Pendleton.
Housing: quality
hOITieS and JOGS
(Continued from page 1)
"We were able to do differ
ent style of roofs. What we had
budgeted was like a straight
gable, but we went over the
mountain and got quotes from
.Precision Roof Truss. They
,gave 1,8 a cIuote thftt was lower
than the Ccntral re8n truss
companies by close to a thou
sand dollars," he said. "But it's a
bulk deal. You have to have two
of them ready at once, You
have to have two houses framed
up, so they bring out two truss
packages. We were able to save
money there."
Due to the savings from not
having to hire a contractor,
Strong said he and his depart
ment were able to present each
of the 20 homeowners, who
had all been on a waiting list,
with lots of options for the look
of their homes, from exterior
and interior paint, styles of tile
both for kitchen counters and
entry ways, whether or not to
have a wood stove, roof color
and style of cabinets. They
could even choose the direction
the house sits.
"A lot of times we would
build houses 40 feet from the
road, and the main picture win
dow would be facing the street,"
he said. "What I did was had the
homeowner sign off on it. I
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The Housing and I'rban
Development (lll'D) mutual
help buy program, which pro
vides tribal members the op
portunity to own houses like
the newly built homes on Hear
Drive, is "in very good shape,"
said Pat Prow, Warm Springs
I lousing Department director.
Restrictions that had been
in place have been lifted, he
said, and, with the help of new
bookkeeping procedures, is
fiscally accountable as of the
beginning of 2005. The first
stage of six houses built on
Fish: sea lions
a growing concern
(Continued from page 1)
"We're asking the states to uti
lize every authority available,
within the existing law, to best
manage this problem. The Ma
rine Mammal Protection Act is
a cumbersome law but it does
have some available options.
We're pleased to see the hazing
efforts of the U.S. Army Corps
of F.ngineers at Bonneville
Dam have some positive effect,
but we need all agencies to ex
ercise their management options
to effectively deal with this frus
trating situation."
In the early 1970s, Califor
nia sea lion population num
bered only around 50,000 ani
mals, requiring protection under
the Marine Mammal Protection
Act. NOAA Fisheries now esti
brought them to their lots and
said, 'I Icre's your house plan,
here's your kitchen window,
here's your front door, here's
your back door. I low do you
want this to sit?'
"I'll basically sketch it out,
north, east, south, west, and
they'll sign off on it. And as you
can sec, all the picture windows
i,a facin8 ri8ht to,the moun&tt,
' hU Aey'K suPPos6d
The Housing Department
was able to contract out the elec
trical work, sheet rock and in
sulation to Ccntral Oregon sub
contractors. The houses, Strong
said, are energy efficient, with
double-paned Milgard windows,
wall, attic and floor insulation
that exceeds the state standard.
"Every product we have is
going to have the energy star
rating on it," he said. "That's
important when you're paying
your electric bill. I pay $40 a
month. I'd like to sec people pay
$30 a month."
Because the Warm Springs
Housing Department is respon
sible for maintaining tribally built
houses, Strong said future main
tenance is always in mind dur
ing the construction.
The houses have I lardiplank,
concrete board siding that
Strong said is supposed last for
100 years, and, along with the
standard copper pipe, a heat
sensitive plastic Pecs pipe is
used for water conduit.
CALL
475-6663
rT1i.jj:;iU.MiM,if.:iM.i.Tn
"Se habla espanol"
i VISA
for housing
Bear Drive is in budget and
the entire projec t of 20 dwell
ings in projected to be com
pleted within budget, Prow
said, "with the employment of
100 percent tribal members."
What has helped in main
taining accountability is having
Danielle Switzler on board as
finance manager, Prow said.
Switzler handles the pro
curement processes and pur
chase contracts, in addition to
payroll, and lll'D and tribal
housing compliance.
JVr HOUSING onpw 14
mates the sea lions have grown
to a healthy and robust popula
tion of over 300,000 animals.
In more promising news: fish
counters late last week at
Bonneville Dam posted the
highest numbers of the season
for spring Chinook, with 6,065
swimming through the first Co
lumbia River fish ladders they
encounter as they head inland
from the Pacific to spawn. The
May 5 tally was more than
double the previous day's total
of 2,542. The next best day was
April 25, when the count was
4,149.
"We finally got a decent num
ber," said Cindy Lel 'leur, policy
coordinator for the Columbia
River Compact, made up of the
Washington and Oregon fish
and wildlife departments. (This
story is by Spilyaj staff and from
AP reports.)
"It took a lot to sell me on it
because I'm a big copper guy,"
Strong said. Instead of having
' to use a cutting torch as with
copper, die Pecs pipe can be cut
to fit and clamped on. Pecs pipe
is able to expand and contract
with the temperature to avoid
burst through freezing.
: ,. Each pf, the homes will havp
.gravel driveways, butliosWdd of
simP'y spreading graved tasf:
of big rock is laid out first to
stabilize the ground.
The last housing project on
the reservation was five years
ago, and those were manufac
tured homes, Strong said. "They
didn't employ any tribal mem
bers," he said. "It all went out.
Not only that, you're not getting
the same quality in 'a manufac
tured home."
Strong said he recently fin
ished his own home in the
Sceksecqua area, and he enjoys
the feeling of having his own
home. He said he wants to share
the same pride with his neigh
bor tribal members on Bear
Drive.
"I sit at home at night, and
because I've been in construc
tion for 15 years, I think about
how can we help these people,
how can they better them
selves," he said.
"You have to put forth a 1 10
percent effort everyday and just
make them believe in you."
Warm
Springs
and
Madras
since
1975
Serving