Rosebud member chosen to lead Indian Health Service

Senate still must confirm Obama nomination

Peter Harriman • This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it • March 25, 2009

A doctor who grew up in Rapid City and is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe will be nominated by President Obama to head the Indian Health Service, the White House annnounced this week.

Dr. Yvette Roubideaux is on the faculty of the College of Public Health and College of Medicine at the University of Arizona, and her experience within the IHS and her connection to the area has tribal leaders here excited. The Senate must confirm her nomination.

Rosebud Tribal Chairman Rodney Bordeaux and Sinte Gleska University President Lionel Bordeaux both hailed her nomination.

"I am very honored to have a fellow tribal member, Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, be selected for such a high position in Indian Health Service," Lionel Bordeaux said. He also is hopeful Roubideaux can help build a bridge between IHS and tribal colleges.

Roubideaux grew up in the Rapid City area, according to Rodney Bordeaux, and while she did not spend a great amount of time on the reservation, she remains connected to the tribe.

"She served on the Obama transition team. We sent her information on health-related issues. She was very responsive. She answered right back. She engages pretty well with Indian Country," he said.

Bordeaux also hopes Robideaux can help redress what he calls funding disparities among IHS service units within the Aberdeen region that have left the hospital on the Rosebud reservation underfunded.

"Her being aware of how IHS works will be a great benefit," he said.

In a biography, Roubideaux writes "my first encounters with the healthcare system were as a patient in the Indian Health Service. The IHS is severely underfunded and understaffed, and I often waited four to six hours to see a doctor.

"As a teenager, I realized that I had never seen an American Indian physician and felt that by becoming a physician I could do something to help improve health care for American Indian communities."

Reach Peter Harriman at 575-3615.