Treating the Crisis
By Rep. Kristi Noem

 

Late into the evening on July 22, 2015, a young woman arrived in the Emergency Room of the Indian Health Service hospital in Rosebud.  She was having contractions – each, about two and a half minutes apart.  The baby was coming.  Still, nursing staff allowed the young woman to leave and use the restroom. Minutes later, her boyfriend started yelling from the bathroom.  He needed a doctor.  The baby had been born on the floor.

The infant was not initially breathing.  His color was “dusky.”  Once a nurse entered the bathroom, the baby was scooped up and run into a nearby room where they were able to start his breathing.  It’s a horrifying story, as told in a recent government review of the hospital.  What’s more – it’s happened before.

I’ve heard stories like this over and over again from tribal members I’ve met with.  For years, federal reports have documented shocking cases of mismanagement and poorly delivered care.  There have been instances where medical staff saw patients while intoxicated, evidence of Indian Health Service (or IHS) employees stealing thousands of narcotics from the hospital pharmacy, and a time when a man known to have tuberculosis, which is highly contagious, was allowed to interact unsupervised with other patients.

IHS was left to make improvements on its own.  They were given funding increases almost every year and yet, the agency produced increasingly poor care to South Dakota’s tribal communities.  Enough is enough.

This month, I led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in introducing comprehensive reform legislation.  The Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Transparency in Tribal Healthcare Act (which we call the HEALTTH ACT) offers critical structural changes to how IHS operates, addressing both medical and administrative challenges.

Currently, IHS is empowered to make choices about hospital contracts without input from the tribes it serves or independent healthcare experts.  My bill would change that and allow for a partnership among these three groups to better ensure contracts are designed to serve those they’re intended to help.

I’ve also taken on the Purchased/Referred Care Program, which is the program that pays for care tribal members can’t receive directly at an IHS hospital or clinic. To protect taxpayers, this program has limited funds.  But the money is distributed according to an outdated formula that doesn’t consider things like geography or population, leaving some areas with surpluses while others are unable to pay the bills.  Through my legislation, we require IHS to make changes so the formula is based on factors that impact access to care, finally matching support with need.  Additionally, because IHS currently pays a premium for these outside services, I’ve included provisions to help drive down prices and stretch every Purchased/Referred Care dollar further.

It’s also been an incredible challenge to recruit competent medical staff and hospital leadership.  These hospitals are typically in remote areas and the incentives to move there just haven’t been offered.  My legislation tries to make hiring a bit easier, while also giving additional help to medical professionals and administrators for things like paying back their student loans.

Critical accountability requirements are also included to make sure we can better monitor what is happening at IHS facilities in crisis.

The government is required by treaty to provide healthcare to tribal communities, but IHS has failed to uphold that duty.  As it stands today, the Emergency Department at Rosebud is shut down until it can be made safe enough to see patients again.  IHS facilities in Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and Rapid City are in jeopardy as well. Lives have been lost because of what’s happening. Big adjustments urgently need to be made, but I’m committed to working together on agency-level changes and my legislative reforms to ensure tribal members finally receive the care their families need.

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Give The Gift Of Life
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

Three-year-old Stella was a joy to her parents. Her smile lit up the room and she was a very happy little girl. Then, Stella’s family suffered a trial they never expected. They tragically lost Stella in a car accident. Through her grief, Stella’s mom insisted that Stella be a donor, and her eyes were given to a blind man who, for the first time in his life, was able to see.

The man who received his sight was just one of the individuals who was helped by Stella. Through organ, eye and tissue donation, one person can save or enhance the lives of up to 60 people. For the more than 120,000 people across the United States who are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, one person’s decision to register as a donor can be far-reaching.

In 2013, I proposed and the Legislature passed a bill to establish a new online donor registry to make it easier for South Dakotans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors. Rather than waiting for their next trip to renew their driver’s license, South Dakotans can go online, at any time, to become a donor.

According to LifeSource, the new registry is having an impact. Since 2011, the percentage of South Dakotans age 18 and older who are registered has increased from 53 percent to 62 percent. That’s a relatively high percentage compared to other states, but I think we can do better.

Each day, 21 people die waiting for an organ transplant. Every 10 minutes a new name is added to the national waiting list. The soldier who needs skin grafts, the boy whose lungs aren’t functioning, the woman with failing kidneys – they are all someone’s child, parent, grandparent, sibling or friend. Each person on the transplant list has loved ones who are praying for a phone call.

Those on the waiting list can only be helped by the generosity of individuals who choose to say ‘yes’ to organ donation. The next time you renew your driver’s license, check the box to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. Or, even better, go to DonateLifeSD.org to register now.

Death is inevitable for all of us – and, it is especially challenging when it comes too soon or unexpectedly. Yet, choosing to be a donor can be a silver lining. It is an opportunity to save the life of another. Linda and I are donors; won’t you join us?

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From my inbox from the SDGOP, apparently there are those in the GOP who have an agenda. And they’re getting it out to people a couple of weeks early!

Grand Ol’ Partiers, We’re excited to release the Agenda for the 2016 SDGOP State Convention in Aberdeen on June 24th and 25th! Please see below. If you have not yet registered, you can do that here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sd-gop-state-convention-tickets-24432311702 Please note: If you are planning to attend the Convention both days and eat meals, register as a Delegate/Guest for $65/person. If you are planning to only attend Friday evening’s banquet, you can purchase the $35/person Friday Banquet Only ticket. This meal fee is the only fee for the Convention. Here is the Agenda: The Ramkota Hotel in Aberdeen currently has no vacancy for Friday evening (June 24). If you haven’t made your hotel reservation, consider calling other hotels in the area or contact the Ramkota at 605.229.4040 and ask to be placed on a waitlist. If you would like to place an advertisement in our Convention Program or have a booth presence at this year’s State Convention, please reach out to me directly ASAP! As always, feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you. Ryan Budmayr Executive Director South Dakota Republican Party ryan@southdakotagop.com www.southdakotagop.com

Under a prior post, I had a flurry of comments from someone trying to claim that I’m pushing a particular candidate for President Pro Tempore of the Senate that I didn’t let through. 

Why? Because it couldn’t be farther from the truth, and was an outright lie.

The same anonymous poster was also trying to say Lance Russell should be Pro Tem, and Brock Greenfield should run for Maj. Leader, etc. Given comments on another website this AM, I suspect it wasn’t so anonymous. 

The problem wasn’t anonymity, as much as pushing one’s agenda in the face of accuracy.

I have been directly told that, despite what some are trying to do bolster their own standing, is that returning State Senator Brock Greenfield is looking at being a candidate for President Pro Tempore at this point.  And former SDGOP ED/ practicing Attorney Lance Russell has no plans to run for anything. 

Not to mention the fact there’s a number of people currently in a number of positions already who might be gearing up to give it another go, and to move up themselves. (It’s like an election within the election!)

I offered in a prior post the possibility we could see Lance end up in a leadership role in a more conservative Senate.  But first year Senators don’t usually get a top job as this ‘anonymous’ person was promoting. Especially when they aren’t running for it.

These internal races might rumble in the background over the course of a year, but they can’t truly be considered until the landscape is known on November 9th. Those caucus elections take place mid-late November, and those slates are brought forward at session. 

For those questioning where I stand on some of these races, I’m a pretty simple guy. If you see me mention “I heard someone is running,” it’s because I actually heard someone is running.  

If I say “The Senate needs to elect….” Then I’m personally advocating. 

And you won’t typically see me directly advocating in caucus elections because I generally know most of them, I like them, and absent an over-riding reason, I have no need to get into their stuff. 

So, take my comments on caucus activities at face value. I mean what I say when I provide an occasional tip on their inner workings. And trust me, its agenda free!

A reader was kind enough to share this photo from the State Capital fight of the early 1900’s which pitted ‘peerless Pierre’ against arch-rival Mitchell for the honor of hosting the State’s Capitol Building:

As was noted to me by the reader…

“The Cabinet style photo was take by photographer Jerome Wiltse of Mitchell. I was thinking that this was taken in the 2nd fight as Jerome died in 1900 before the 1904 fight.

I will be donating it to the State Archives.”

A very neat remnant of our past. Thank you very much for sharing it with us, and eventually the people of South Dakota!

But it wasn’t the presidential primaries that had townspeople divided as they went to their polling place Tuesday. It was a proposal to dissolve the town, which voters rejected.
The final tally: 7 to 4.

Read it here.

Interesting story by Seth Tupper in the Rapid City Journal this AM about a town anyone who has taken Highway 14 to Rapid City passes through, or remembers where Representative Larry Gabriel hailed from; Cottonwood.

Jon Ellis over at the Argus is writing on his blog that there’s not a terrible amount of enthusiasm for the presidential contenders in either party:

Democrats and Republicans alike fell into line and gave wins to their presumptive presidential nominees, despite the fact that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have lower favorable ratings than even Pol Pot had during the period of time when he was hiding deep in a Cambodian jungle.

And they haven’t even started killing people. Yet.

For both parties, the numbers are alarming.

Read it here.

What are your thoughts on the presumptive nominee of your respective parties?

I swear I’m going to skip the race unless the twice daily robocalls from the Trump campaign stop…. as they’ve continued long after the Tuesday primary.  And even if that happens, I’d like to see some more specifics on what he’s going to do if elected.  If I’m to get excited, there’s got to be more than the fact that the alternative is even worse, (which it is.)

So, what’s your take on all of this?

And how will the elections shape up for Leadership?

There’s probably not a lot of things drastically altered from the results of this weeks’ primary moving into the next legislative session, but we will see some changes in the leadership structure from comings and goings, especially in the State Senate, with the term limiting of Corey Brown as Senate Majority Leader.

Brown’s departure will leave a big hole in the Senate GOP Caucus, as it’s up in the air over who can take over the political role he assumed during session, and behind the scenes for the caucus, during times of campaigns.   Jim White was tapped as his assistant, but this is not going to be the Senate GOP Caucus of 2015-2016.

The Senate was inevitably going to be a much more conservative place, and now it will be even moreso with the election of a few primary contenders who weren’t guaranteed to be there, such as Lance Russell, Stace Nelson, Phil Jensen and Ryan Maher.  We’re also adding Neal Tapio, probably Jim Bolin, and others.

Word on the street is that State Senator Brock Greenfield has his eye on Gary Cammack’s position as President Pro Tempore.  Given the harder line conservatism of the senate, it remains to be seen if Jim White will return as Assistant Majority Leader, or move up to Brown’s position.  The composition of whips may change as well.

Senate Leadership will likely be a very fluid thing over the course of the year.  I would not be shocked to see newcomers to the Senate such as Jim Bolin or former GOP ED Lance Russell in the leadership mix somewhere.

But, we shall see.

The House is going to be more of a steady state, with the ascension of Mark Mickelson from Speaker Pro Tempore to Speaker of the House. Steve Westra may be the natural choice to move up to majority leader from assistant, but there will be a lot of new faces, so nothing is guaranteed.

Larry Rhoden who will be returning to the House, and who was formerly in Leadership may find himself called on to take a role in filling a vacancy.

But, I don’t know that I would expect as much of a shakeup as they’ll experience in the Senate.

 

If you’ve been on facebook lately, or here at the SDWC, you might have noticed some of the elective blowback from Stace Nelson over his successful campaign this past Tuesday. For Example:

Aside from Stace taking the opportunity to be a sore winner, of course, he tries to intimate that everyone is lying about him. According to himself, Stace is as pure as the driven snow, and never did anything “underhanded or dirty.” Despite ample evidence to the contrary such as his own robocalled voice on Sunday Night accusing his opponent of wearing women’s undergarments:

As the dust settles in the race, Nelson isn’t doing much by way of attempting to build bridges, as much as exhibiting cognitive dissonance; in that the beliefs he tries to claim do not match up his behaviors.

Aside from that, a bigger question is whether Nelson’s election represents a problem for the SDGOP?

Reading in comments on this website and elsewhere, Nelson’s election might raise a moral dilemma for some members of the GOP. Do you raise money and support the campaign of someone who is a complete jerk to a significant portion of the party? Or do you just walk away?  Already I’m hearing talk from a member or two of the lobbying corps who note that they don’t want any of their donations to go into Nelson’s coffers.

It’s not unlike the GOP’s problem on the national level with whether or not to support Donald Trump as he attacks people and says offensive things. Do you get out and support the nominee, do you support the opponent, or do you just take a pass.

With Donald Trump, the Hillary alternative is even more offensive, so it’s hard to consider that an option. But with Stace, it depends on who the opponent is.

Russell Graeff is the Democrat in the race, a man Nelson has claimed is only serving as a placeholder. That’s not hard to believe, and regardless, Democrats may replace him anyway after Graeff appears to have been arrested for DUI on May 16th.

Maybe a better question to ask, is “will Nelson face a GOP problem?”

If Democrats replaced Graeff with someone with political experience and well-liked, the race could become competitive, especially given that Nelson is directly antagonistic with those who had supported him in the past.  

Upon his entrance into the race, he openly attacked the sitting Senator Bill VanGerpen. From his abuse and public name-calling at Senator Bill VanGerpen, one would not have known that pre-US Senate, VanGerpen was his biggest campaign donor, and had jointly campaigned with him in the past.

Nelson has also taken after other legislators, at least one whom he accused of encouraging Caleb Finck to get into the race when he did the opposite.   Nelson also attacked Jim Putnam, who had represented the area for years, and has gone after the two house members in his district enough to the point where they were openly in support of his opponent.

Going from his biggest financial supporter to the subject of Nelson’s public abuse in newspapers, its highly doubtful that VanGerpen will be lending any support to the Nelson campaign.  The same goes for the House candidates, and most statewide and other elected officials.  Does anyone think US Senator John Thune is going to want Nelson within a country mile of him, after Nelson called for Thune being primaried?  I don’t think I even need to ask about Senator Mike Rounds.

The GOP does not provide direct cash assistance to candidates as they had in the past, which leaves Nelson’s monetary sources limited, which could crunch him for cash in the face of a serious opponent. For some, letting the seat go to a mildly ineffective Democrat may be preferable to backing someone who will be verbally abusive to his colleagues and causing the kind of drama that arose during his last stint in the legislature.

With the possibility Democrats could put someone tolerable in the race, Nelson may find that burning his bridges has only succeeded in isolating himself on an island of his own making.

There are things that shock me. This was not one of them.

If you’re wondering why I wasn’t shocked, you have a short memory:

(You can read that here.)