A western South Dakota tribe has decided to withdraw its funding from a Rapid City clinic that was meant to provide women’s health services for enrolled members. This decision was made after the clinic failed to offer appointments for over a year. The Native Women’s Health Clinic is responsible for providing obstetric and gynecologic services for eligible Indian women and operates out of the Oyate Health Center as a separate organization. According to a report, the clinic had 4,800 visits in 2021 but that number dropped to zero by April 2023.
Both the Rosebud and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes have put the clinic on notice and threatened to pull their funding shares if the clinic does not start seeing patients. Rosebud Sioux Tribal President Scott Herman expressed concern about the women’s health clinic and stated that they have not provided the necessary services for a year and a half. The tribe is working to address this issue, but no decisions have been made regarding the funding shares allotted to the tribe for women’s health services in Rapid City.
Patients who would have gone to the Native Women’s Health Clinic are now being referred to midwives located at the Oyate Health Center and other clinics in Rapid City. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has also passed a resolution to pull its funding shares from the clinic and has ceased publicly broadcasting council meeting videos. The clinic is administered by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, but its president, Frank Star Comes Out, has not responded to requests for comment. Star Comes Out previously stated that the tribe had addressed the lack of providers issue and will continue to monitor the situation moving forward.
