Thursday, April 10, 2025
4/10/2025
Sac and Fox Nation Special Diabetes Program for Indians - The Sac and Fox Nation Special Diabetes Program for Indians (S.D.P.I.) is located in the Merle W. Boyd Center in the rural community of Stroud, Oklahoma. To understand the burden of diabetes on the Sac and Fox community is to know the story of the building’s namesake, Merle W. Boyd. Mr. Boyd lived with diabetes and its complications for many years. Due to his experience, he spent years traveling the country to learn about diabetes and its prevention in the Sac and Fox Nation’s community. It was his desire that a facility be built that may help encourage the community to not only live well with diabetes but also help prevent it in future generations. The Merle Boyd Wellness Center that exists today was inspired by Mr. Boyd’s vision. It provides a fitness room, locker rooms, a kitchen for diet counseling and food demonstration, a physical therapy room, and a podiatry exam room. The Sac and Fox Nation implements a clinic and community based S.D.P.I. Program. Don Abney, Principal Chief, and Lana Butler, Secretary, are the two tribal leaders who are identified and actively involved with the S.D.P.I. Program. Key personnel consists of an S.D.P.I. Program Coordinator, a dietitian, a nurse practitioner, a pharmacist, an exercise specialist, a lab manager, and an appointment scheduler. The program currently provides services to enrolled tribal members and other American Indian tribal members residing within the specified jurisdictional areas. The service area is located within the three county jurisdictions of Lincoln County, Pottawatomie County, and Payne County in Oklahoma. Currently there are 231 patients on the diabetes register. Approximately 27% of these patients utilize the full scope of services offered by the Special Diabetes Program. Since only approximately 27% of the patients on the diabetes register fully utilize the S.D.P.I. services our Best Practice and other activities and services we selected will use as the primary target group the 231 patients on the diabetes register. Our program will intensively work with these 231 people and provide various nutrition and physical education activities and services and encourage and assist patients to schedule foot, eye, and dental exams. Yearly foot exams, eye exams, and dental exams, are imperative for good diabetic health care. They can detect problems in the early stages. Eye care and dental care will be contracted with providers outside of Black Hawk Health Center. Podiatry services including a shoe clinic will be provided at Black Hawk Health Center by a contracted Podiatrist. To enable our patients to regularly check their blood sugar glucometers, continuous glucose monitors, test strips and lancets will be given to our diabetic patients who receive their diabetic care at Black Hawk Health Center. Prevention is the key and our Exercise Specialist, Dietitian, and Special Projects Manager will visit various schools to present nutrition and physical education activities. We will take every available opportunity to have educational booths at health fairs and conferences and provide diabetes education prevention presentations upon request. Our goal is to provide activities/services that will be aimed at preventing diabetes, reducing the risk of diabetes in at-risk individuals, providing high quality care to those with diagnosed diabetes, and/or reducing the complications of diabetes.
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).