The Indian Health Service (IHS) Tribal Injury Prevention Cooperative Agreement Program (TIPCAP), which includes the SRPMIC Public Health Injury Prevention Program, received the 2024 National IHS Director’s Award.

SRPMIC Health and Human Services–Public Health Services Injury Prevention Coordinator Monte Yazzie was part of the team that was recognized. Also recognized was IHS Area Injury Prevention Program Manager Robert Morones.

The IHS Director’s Award recognizes service that has significantly advanced its mission and vision through work focused on the goals and objectives in the IHS Strategic Plan. These goals and objectives are access, quality and management operations with particular emphasis on quality-improvement activities.

3 Takeaways:

• The SRPMIC Injury Prevention Program under Monte Yazzie was recognized along with TIPCAP for the 2024 National Indian Health Service (IHS) Director’s Award.
• The award recognizes service that has significantly advanced the health system’s mission and vision through the IHS Strategic Plan.
• A ceremony will be held on March 27 in Rockville, Maryland.

“We are a part of that plan as being a recipient of the TIPCAP grant,” said Yazzie, referring to the SRPMIC Injury Prevention Program.

“This grant provides us with five years to integrate community-specific goals surrounding public health, and specifically injury prevention.”

TIPCAP is a national IHS program that provides grants to support injury prevention activities in tribal communities across the nation.

As for why the SRPMIC program was recognized, Yazzie cites the work that the program has done, which includes transportation safety for children and teens, opioid abuse prevention, and providing lockboxes and medication disposal bags.

“We do yoga, tai chi, home assessments and fall risk assessments for clients as well,” said Yazzie, who does it all by himself as the only Injury Prevention employee for the Community.

“That capacity to bring in the different opportunities to help advance the health status and decrease injuries for the communities, it’s really been the mission of the Injury Prevention Program and TIPCAP program.”

Yazzie has been the coordinator in this position for about 10 years. But he tells people the Injury Prevention Program can’t do the job by itself. Yazzie has a lot of great partners, he said.

“In recognition of this award, there are so many different people we have to bring into the conversation, [including] our Public Health leadership team, who’ve been very supportive of our efforts. Also, our Environmental Health team, our Diabetes Prevention team, our WIC team, our disease investigators and our Community Health Nursing team have all been so beneficial as a team to have available to help with different efforts.”

Yazzie is also grateful for the close partnerships with the Early Childhood Education Center, Social Services, the Salt River Police Department and the Salt River Fire Department.

“Congratulations Monte for your great work preventing injury and promoting health and wellness through your work with the SRPMIC,” said SRPMIC Chief Public Health Officer Nancy Mangieri in a statement. The IHS National Director’s Awards Ceremony will be held on March 27 at the IHS Headquarters in Rockville, Maryland.