3 takeaways:

• The National Tribal Health Conference was held in August.
• The conference connects health officials from across the country for a week-long showcase of policy creation, networking and hands-on training.
• Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Mangieri, SRPMIC Emergency Management coordinators Terry Nelson and Kirsten VanDeventer represented the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

Public health officials from across the country traveled to the Phoenix Valley for the National Tribal Health Conference, held from Aug 16-21 in the Gila River Indian Community. The conference featured a stop in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community with SRPMIC public health officials and staff from the Community presenting.

The conference covered a wide array of topics involving public health, including extreme heat and tribal disaster preparedness, strengthening tribal behavioral health systems, updating policies and public approaches to the missing and murdered Indigenous peoples crisis.

Additionally, the conference also featured a stop in the SRPMIC with Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Mangieri and SRPMIC Emergency Management coordinators Terry Nelson and Kirsten VanDeventer serving as representatives for the Community.

Various staff from the Gila River Health Center, Center for Disease Control, Indian Health Service, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and many more health agencies attended the conference’s tour stop in the Community to get a deeper look at how the SRPMIC takes care of their own during emergencies.

The Tour

VanDeventer began the tour at the Community Building with background and history of the Community, which included the Community’s sheltering efforts during emergencies, how the community’s Cool Place helps membership stay safe and how several health departments collaborate to enhance the lives of SRPMIC membership.

The tour also included a stop at the Cool Place.

“We have a new public health authority, its only three years old. We’re in the process of building a team and we work very closely with our Emergency Management department,” began Mangieri during the introductions as she stood next to VanDeventer and Nelson. “We got to know each other a great deal during Covid.”

Later, VanDeventer discussed with the group the sheltering efforts the Community implements during an emergency. “From June 15 to Sept. 30, during that important time, we receive our highest temperatures and the greatest amount of moisture. This becomes a risk threat, specifically to our elders and our senior population within the Community. So, we’re trying to make sure those populations, and more are protected,” she explained to the group.

Throughout the tour stop, VanDeventer, Nelson and Mangieri allowed for guests to look at the Community Building, the gymnasium, the shelter management kits the Community utilizes, as well as the cots the Community can utilize in the event of an emergency.

The SRPMIC presenters further detailed how the Community can implement medical, feeding, shower, pets/livestock, mental health, social, senior and family reunification services during an emergency.

Nelson also shared with the group that the Community has partnered with the American Red Cross and other emergency services to provide sustainable programs and services for the Community. “Our plans are developed, not only by best practices, but we look at what the Red Cross and FEMA put together. Then we make sure we get those plans added to our emergency operations plan.”