Today, Red Star Innovations, with support from the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), announced a formal effort to assess the role that a tribal public health institute could play in addressing American Indian and Alaska Native health disparities.

 

“Challenged by limited resources, tribes and tribal organizations are overstretched with providing community based services, building the evidence base for promising practices and improving performance,” said Aleena Hernandez, founder of Red Star Innovations, a tribal public health consulting company. “A tribal public health institute has the potential to support tribal self-determination by providing technical assistance and serving as a trusted source of information for tribal leaders, decision makers and policy advocates to catalyze long-term health improvements for American Indian and Alaska Native communities.”

 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) contracted Red Star Innovations to conduct a feasibility study to understand the role a tribal public health institute could play in complementing existing tribal services and resources. Additionally, Red Star Innovations will establish a tribal public health advisory board to provide key recommendations and evaluate the feasibility and desirability of creating a tribal public health institute, and convene tribal roundtables throughout the country to seek ongoing input into the project.

 

Public health institutes are nonprofit entities that serve as partners and conveners to improve population-level health outcomes and foster innovations in the public health system. They work side-by-side with communities; regional and national organizations; tribal, local, state and federal governments; medical care delivery systems; and academia. “Public health institutes around the nation have become critical players in the ‘new’ public health, complementing the vital role of public health system stakeholders and leveraging additional resources across multiple sectors to address population health challenges,” says Joe Kimbrell, CEO of NNPHI. “As a community of practice of public health institutes, NNPHI members stand ready to share their collective expertise with tribal public health institute advisory board members.”

 

Based out of Tucson, AZ, Red Star Innovations specializes in national public health consulting services, specifically in the area of performance, capacity and infrastructure development, with tribes, tribal organizations and other agencies working with tribes. Red Star is a leader in helping tribal public health systems to prepare for accreditation, systems and services research, and tribal public health performance, assessment and improvement.

 

 

For more information about the project or to serve on the tribal public health advisory board, please contact Red Star Innovations at (520) 429-1361 or info@redstar1.org.