Battle Wounds in Browning

Last night we visited with Dr. Mary DesRosier over dinner. Mary is a family practice doctor here on the reservation. In fact, she was the very first to grow up on the rez, receive her medical education off the reservation, and then come back. She was telling us that coming back really was a huge deal. If people on the reservation somehow find an opportunity to get off, they generally take it and don't look back. She not only came back but is doing everything she can as a general practice doctor to improve her community.

Dr. DesRosier Speaks to the Group

Mary gave us a lot of background on the reservation's healthcare system. The Native Americans had their own medicines for thousands of years. Herbalists and Spiritual Healers were helping their people for as long as they have been here. But when our government came in, the traditional ways of practicing medicine were outlawed. In its place, the government instituted a special healthcare system first through the military and then through the Department of the Interior. The Indian Health Service (IHS), while not instituted until the mid 1950s, is better than the original systems imposed on the Indians, but still has its problems.

The first day we were in Browning I got the opportunity to see this system up close, but not how I would have liked. Playing a pickup football game I collided with another student. He is fine. I busted my lip open. After Mr. Sudnik got me to the hospital twenty minutes away, I experienced a minor wait in the ER before getting stitched up and sent on my way.

From what I could see, the IHS hospital had its problems, and Mary's talk confirmed my suspicions. Talking to the nurse while I was being processed, I found out I was lucky enough to have my accident during a slow period. On that day alone, the hospital had to fly out two patients within the same hour. In addition, my nurse forgot to take my vital signs. Mary told us that while casualty rates were high on the res, one of their biggest issues was the fact that they could not find permanent doctors to work there. The doctor that sewed up my lip was a private contractor, who would fly out, work for a week, then fly back home to Iowa for a week. A large number of workers at the IHS hospital are private contractors. Funding, or lack thereof, is also a big problem. We are here at the end of the fiscal year, which means the funding the hospital got from the government is almost gone. Thus, they had to continually make service cuts to continue operating until they get more money when the new fiscal year begins.

I could tell, when I was there, that the hospital had some issues. It wasn't until Mary talked to us that I really began to understand exactly what those issues were. My injury may have been small, but the impact this place has had on us is not. I don't think I'll ever forget about this trip now.

Jack Fogarty '13

Jack Fogarty '13

 

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