Thursday, April 10, 2025
4/10/2025
Special Diabetes Program for Indians - The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is located in Pine Ridge South Dakota. It's the 8th largest reservation in the United States. The reservation encompasses approximately 3,450 square miles of land area. Diabetes is a serious disease requiring extensive medical care, monitoring on a daily basis that lasts a lifetime and does not discriminate against any generation. Utilizing the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) report, the number of people in the community is 21,939. The number of people in the community who have been diagnosed with diabetes is 1,135. The prevalence of diabetes on the reservation is 5.2%. Needs Assessment For School year 2021 to 2022, school screenings were completed in the fall semester in four schools. More than one-half (57%) of the students had overweight or obesity. Tribal Leadership Delores Pourier, Oglala Sioux Tribe Health Administrator. Ms. Pourier offered collaborations and walking events for the staff to participate in for their own health and wellness. Ms. Pourier will continue to be involved in our FY2023 Grant. Staff Program Director, Data Entry-Lifestyle Coach Supervisor, Administrative Assistant, Lifestyle Coach, Fitness Aide, and Certified Nurse Aide have experience working with the Diabetes Program. The staff have experience collecting the data and tracking the trends to focus the program resources. Best Practice The Diabetes Program will be implementing the Physical Activity Education Best Practice. The Program Activities will include Presidential Fitness Assessments and Education will be provided during Physical Education Classes. Other Activities/Services The Diabetes Program will be implementing School Screening in the following schools: Batesland, Loneman, Red Shirt, Rockyford and Wolf Creek. The program staff obtain parental consent to screen children for Height, Weight, BMI percentile and HbA1c level. Additional Information For the School Year 2021-2022 The Presidential Fitness Test (PFT) included the following fitness areas: modified pull-ups, modified push-ups, push-ups, run/walk, modified sit-ups, sit-ups, and sit and reach. The test results for each student were compared to determine improvement in the fitness levels for each student from the Fall to the Spring semester. The vast majority (90% n=340/376) of the students improved their fitness levels. Funding is needed to continue improving the fitness levels of the school aged children. The Diabetes program has been very successful in helping students improve their fitness levels which improves their health status.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).