S moke S ignals
JULY 15, 2015
7
Tal Moore takes helm at Health & Wellness
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
After spending the last five years
working for the Navajo Nation, new
interim Health Services Executive
Director Tal Moore will transition
from his role as a consultant to ac-
tual leadership of the Grand Ronde
Health & Wellness Center.
“Tal brings with him several
years of experience in providing
high quality patient service,” said
Tribal General Manager Dawn
Doar. “He is instrumental in as-
sessing our Health & Wellness
Center while providing leadership
as the interim director.”
Moore, who has 25 years of ex-
perience in Tribal government and
health care, was the chief adminis-
trative officer at the Navajo’s Fort
Defiance Indian Hospital before
being recruited to come to Grand
Ronde. He was responsible for
overseeing the Tsehootsooi Medical
Center and the NahataDzill Health
Clinic at Fort Defiance.
Moore, who is a descendant of
the Sandia Pueblo, is the president
of ElmHawk Consulting based in
Palm Springs, Calif.
“I was asked to assist leadership
in conducting a comprehensive or-
ganizational assessment and that
changed to assisting with the daily
operations,” said Moore, who was
introduced to Tribal Council on
July 2 during Doar’s update.
“One of the things we are looking
at right away is the access to health
care, access with Tribal member-
ship in mind,” said Moore. “Elders
being the key
in that focus.”
Moore, who
attended
Grand Can-
yon Universi-
ty in Phoenix,
Ariz., and
graduated
from Wash-
Tal Moore
ington Uni-
versity in St. Louis, Mo., said he
will concentrate on filling current
vacancies at the Health & Wellness
Center. He said he wants to add
value to each patient visit and that
patients should not have to wait
months for an appointment to see
a doctor.
Currently, Moore and his staff
are recruiting for a caregiver, a
pharmacy director, a dentist, an
optometrist and a physician and/
or a nurse practitioner.
“This is a beautiful place to work
and this Tribe doesn’t hold back
as far as giving the providers the
right resources,” said Moore. “The
assessment is really focused right
now on staffing levels. We have
some vacancies that we have to
prioritize to recruit and retain.
We need to open up access. We’re
looking at patient flow. We are
working on consistency. We’re
looking at the patient with a
continuum of care and we can do
that.”
Tribal Council Chairman Reyn
Leno said he wants the Tribe’s
Health & Wellness Center to be as
consistent as possible now and in
Housing installs stop signs, changes speed limit
The Grand Ronde Housing Department has installed two new stop signs
near the welcome center, as well as changed the speed limit in Tribal
housing from 35 mph to 25 mph. For more information, contact Home-
ownership Coordinator Vicki Jones at 503-879-1465. n
CTGR Annual Fish
Distribution
Natural Resources Department
Lower Shop
47010 S.W. Hebo Road
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
503-879-2424
the future.
“It (the clinic) needs to meet
the level of everything else Grand
Ronde has done,” said Leno. “A
Tribal member needs to be able to
say, ‘I’m proud of the health clinic’
and I think that is something that
Tal understands. I think he clearly
identifies with the family mental-
ity. He is a Native American. So,
I think he understands that you
have to hold together as a family
and that there will be difficult
decisions that have to be made
at times for the betterment of the
whole Tribe.”
Tribal Council Secretary Toby
McClary said he is impressed with
Moore so far and that he is happy
with the positive feedback he has
heard.
“I’m relieved that he has experi-
ence in Indian Country, specifically
with Elders,” said McClary. “It
has been a struggle at times for us
to find people in the medical field
that understand sensitivity and
that level of respect. We put our
Elders on a pedestal around here
as if they were royalty and I don’t
think outside of Indian Country
that is always the practice. It’s good
to have him in there to help educate
people and get them headed in the
right direction.”
Leno and Moore agree that the
clinic will be undergoing changes
and that those changes will come
in two phases.
“One is basically to get things
moving in the right direction and
get everybody on the same page,”
said Leno. “Then we want to raise
the performance level to the point
where our Health & Wellness
Center is talked about just like our
casino is talked about and just like
our Natural Resources Department
is talked about. I think he clearly
understands the role that he is in.”
Moore, who is the elected presi-
dent of the National Native Amer-
ican Human Resources Association
since 2008, said he is looking at a
more holistic approach to medicine
for the Health & Wellness Center.
“We want holistic health care. We
want traditional health care,” said
Moore. “We’ll do it because that’s
what the community wants. I’m a
firm believer that western medicine
is founded on evidence, but a bal-
ance with traditional and holistic
care can really help somebody in
a spiritual and healthy way. It’s
critical.”
Moore said he needs to find out
what “traditional medicine” means
in Grand Ronde. He said he learned
“quickly” what traditional medicine
entailed while at Fort Defiance
Indian Hospital.
“We had five traditional healers
on staff full-time,” said Moore. “We
had 50 beds. We had an ICU unit
and we had 250,000 patient visits
a year. That is something we are
looking at here is holistic and tra-
ditional practices.”
Leno said he believes Moore is the
right person for the interim position
because he gets what it means to
be Native.
“I think it is important to be able
to read a patient,” said Leno. “That
doctor needs to realize you are not
in the outside world. You are in
our world. I think our doctors here
now and in the future need to un-
derstand that.”
McClary said he sees Moore as
being a good influence on those
around him.
“Having that leadership and
background with Tal is going to be
important,” said McClary. “I think
he will set that example and people
will just learn from his behavior.”
Doar said it is her goal for the
Tribe’s Health & Wellness Cen-
ter to become a model for Indian
Country.
“The Health & Wellness Center
has amazing employees with dedi-
cation for serving our membership
and the community,” said Doar.
“The combination of Tal’s experi-
ence and the level of dedication
from our current staff is the cata-
lyst needed to establish the Health
& Wellness Center as the best in
Indian Country.” n
GRAND RONDE LIVING and
ENROLLED TRIBAL MEMBERS
Must show current photo I.D.
Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015 - 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 14, 2015 - 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015 - 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
If picking up for others, a signed release form will be required!
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If you have any questions please call the Natural Resources Department 503-879-2424.
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orders will be filled using this line. Thank you for understanding and consideration of others.
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Please contact Lisa Archuleta to preregister for pick up.
503-879-1881
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