AP NewsBreak: Feds outline reforms for reservation hospitals
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Federal health officials testifying Wednesday before U.S. senators on the quality of services offered by government-run hospitals that care for Native Americans in the Great Plains will unveil a number of reforms.
The initiatives were detailed in a release to The Associated Press before the hearing.
The plans include a new multi-agency group focusing on quality and patient safety, a plan to have one accrediting organization for all Indian Health Service hospitals and training for the boards and doctors who run the hospitals.
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The testimony comes weeks after federal inspections highlighted serious problems at two hospitals on South Dakota reservations and months after inspectors uncovered inadequate care for a man who died of kidney failure after going to a Nebraska hospital.
The initiatives also plan to address chronic staffing shortages.