Sunday, June 1, 2025
6/1/2025
SIHC's TOR Program - Southern Indian Health Council, Inc. (SIHC) is a Tribal Organization comprising of seven American Indian (AI) Tribes, which covers the service area of 1,490 square miles that spans into the rural southeast of San Diego County, California. This service area is 33% of San Diego County’s 4,526 square miles. SIHC provides services (over-half) to the AI community, yet SIHC is also a public health center and provides services to the non-AI population as well. SIHC has five site locations with the Alpine clinic, Behavioral Health at Viejas Outlet Center, Campo clinic, Kumeyaay Wellness Center (KWC), and the Boys & Girls Club. The two clinics offer services of medical, dental, pharmaceutical, social services, and community health. Behavioral Health site location is at the Viejas Outlet Center just down the road from the Alpine clinic yet provides their services at all site locations for the community. The Kumeyaay Wellness Center (KWC) provides the community with substance abuse services. Then the Boys & Girls Club provides youth 6-19 a safe place for school support, prevention activities, field trips, and interactive sports. Supporting the statement of need, over the past few years, the San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency (September 2023) that SIHC’s service area is where the highest opioid hospital encounters have occurred. San Diego County further reports the mortality rates increased between 2017 through 2021 from opioids with a 38% increase, fentanyl deaths increased by 88%, and psychostimulants with a 34% increase. The mortality rates by age are also a concern with the report showing a slight decrease for the age group 15-24 yet for the 25-65+ age groups have increased. Part of the recovery services for MAT patients are the Bird Singers that provide healing music for participants. The sweat lodge and Bird Singers will be a continued joint effort with the TOR program and the KWC’s intensive outpatient program. Harm reduction, straight from SAMHSA is to help those on drugs (legal or illegal) to prevent overdosing. Our behavioral health department has been training the community members on the use of Narcan that can, if used fast, help those survive by avoiding an overdose. We encourage participants of the training to recognize and know how to approach a loved one or friend to please have the Narcan spray in your home, car, on you, or encourage the drug user to keep on them the Narcan spray just in case they do overdose. It is also helpful that we provide MAT, Narcan, and opioid resources/tools for free. We also have for free, fentanyl test strips to help reduce that type of drug usage. These are available in the two vending machines for the community. We have been training the community and heard about a dozen stories back from the community, that the Narcan spray worked. The outreach SIHC have been promoting for harm reduction purposes and intervention for those not ready to change their drug use behaviors is working. With the Behavioral Health Substance Abuse Counselor, a comprehensive strategic plan will be developed to work within the parameters of this program narrative and if needed, make the necessary changes the strategic plan may un-cover.
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).