Dr. Laura Hammitt, Director of Infectious Disease Prevention Programs at the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health (CAIH), has been featured in The Lancet Infectious Diseases as a key leader within the Center's COVID-19 response efforts. 

Dr. Hammitt and the CAIH team supported testing and contact tracing efforts and delivered supplies to households in isolation or quarantine during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was the honor of a lifetime to be part of the COVID-19 response team and work alongside Tribal leaders, healthcare providers, and community members to battle this virus,” Hammitt said. (Center for American Indian Health, 2022).

“There is a myriad of socio-economic factors and long-lasting effects from colonization that vaccines alone cannot overcome,” Dr. Hammit explains. “We need sustained investment in Indigenous communities to allow them to make improvements in the structural, economic, and social conditions that impact health.” (Center for American Indian Health, 2022).

Read more in The Lancet Infectious Diseases here.

Deadline: February 28, 2022, 11:59 PM ET

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) invites Tribal public health practitioners, researchers, and community-based service providers to submit presenter abstracts to the National Tribal Public Health Summit 2022 (TPHS 2022) being held virtually May 9-12, 2022.

Read more and submit your abstracts here. 

The application deadline has been extended for National Indian Health Board (NIHB) sub-awardee funding to assist Tribal organizations and/or Tribal health systems with developing and implementing training and capacity building assistance programs. Selected applicants will receive up to $50,000 in funding. The Project Firstline: Building Capacity for Tribal Infection Control sub-award funding through NIHB, with funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), can assist Tribes in creating training resources to raise the capacity of Tribal infection control professionals and healthcare providers in Tribal health systems.

Tribal organizations interested in setting up a Tribal infection control peer learning community may apply for the funding here.

For more information visit NIHB Project Firstline. 

Application Deadline: February 25, 2022

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is accepting applications for our Infectious Disease Peer Learning Community Grant!

Apply here.

For questions about the Infectious Disease Peer Learning Community grant application process, contact Audrianna Marzette, Public Health Program Coordinator at [email protected].

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is accepting applications for a GIS pilot project designed to support Tribal environmental health programs carrying out surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory capacity, and other COVID-19 preparedness and response activities. Tribes, Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TECs), Tribal Health Departments, or Tribal environmental health programs awarded the grant will be required to pilot a prototype application that contains a set of geospatially enabled community contact tracing and reporting tools and identify opportunities and challenges for improving the tool to support system-wide efforts.

To apply for this funding opportunity, submit an application to Brett Weber, Program Manager, Public Health Policy and Programs at [email protected] by Friday, February 25, 2022, 11:59 PM ET. Download the application here. View the recorded webinar providing an overview of the GIS tool here.

Tribes and other Tribal public health authorities have faced difficulties in receiving real time infectious disease case reports from outside entities. Such delays affect how quickly a Tribe can respond and ensure a swift investigation in their communities. As sovereign governments, Tribal Nations have inherent public health authority which bestows upon them the legal authority to receive case reports on conditions of interest to them. Electronic case reporting (eCR) is the automated, real-time exchange of case report information between electronic health records (EHRs) and public health agencies. Learn more about eCR and the benefits here.

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is offering a funding opportunity to eligible applicants with public health authority (Tribal Nations, Tribal Organizations, Tribal Consortia, Tribal Epidemiology Centers) to begin the implementation process of eCR directly to the Tribal public health authority. NIHB anticipates funding two high-quality proposals from Tribes or Tribal organizations for up to $350,000 each.

Download the full Request for Applications here.

Register to attend the Pre-Application Webinar (optional) on Monday, February 28, 2022, 2:00 PM ET here.

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) provides support and policy expertise to Tribal Advisory Committees, which are established to enhance the government-to-government relationship, honor federal trust responsibilities and obligations to Tribes and American Indian and Alaska Native people, and increase understanding between federally-recognized Tribes and federal agencies.

Download the full detailed listing here.

Did you order at-home COVID-19 tests from www.covidtests.gov? The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is conducting a survey to learn about Tribal citizens' experiences ordering at-home COVID-19 tests.

If you ordered your set of four free at-home COVID-19 tests from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), please consider filling out this survey.

For any questions, contact Darby Galligher, Project Coordinator, Public Health Policy and Programs, at [email protected].

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is accepting applications from Tribal infection control professionals and frontline healthcare workers interested in serving on the Tribal Infection Control (TIC) Steering Committee. The TIC Steering Committee will support NIHB’s Project Firstline collaborative by reviewing and advising on infection control materials developed by NIHB. The steering committee has an important role in developing and implementing infection control projects as they provide feedback and recommendations based on their experience and expertise in infection control.

For more information contact Carmen Sanders, Project Coordinator, Public Health Policy and Programs at [email protected].

View application here. 

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is excited to provide the opportunity to assist Tribal Infection Control Officers and Health Officials with completing courses to expand their knowledge of infection control and improve their ability to prevent infections in Tribal communities. NIHB has a scholarship opportunity available for Tribal infection control professionals and healthcare workers to complete online infection control training courses. Scholarship funds can be used for:

Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis. For additional information visit NIHB Project Firstline or contact Carmen Sanders, Project Coordinator, Public Health Policy and Programs, at [email protected]

The National Indian Health Board is seeking qualified candidates for entry to senior executive level positions available in operations, administration, communications, public health, Congressional relations, policy, and federal relations. Full-time, salaried positions in Washington, DC. Job descriptions available here.

The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness is launching the Zenni Scholarship to Advance Children’s Vision in partnership with Zenni Eyewear. This new program supports vision screening certification and access to eyeglasses for underserved populations, including Tribal communities, across the U.S. through:

For more information and to apply, please visit: https://preventblindness.org/zenni-scholarship/.

Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health recently launched the +Connection is Medicine (+CiM) project that is aimed at supporting Diné and Apache families who are struggling with mental health due to ongoing stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic and returning to in-person learning. The study will leverage evidence-based tools, including developing individualized based coping plans and facilitating connections to care through case management. The study is being initiated in response to ongoing feedback from the Project SafeSchools Community Advisory Board and other community stakeholders who have raised concerns about mental distress in the community due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This pilot study will recruit from participants already enrolled in Project SafeSchools and who have elevated symptoms of mental distress. +CiM is aimed to start enrollment by the end June 2022 and continue through January 2023.

Learn more about +CiM here.

Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus Self Checker

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a great tool to help you make decisions on when to seek testing and medical care. Tribal members who are 13 and older, and parents and caregivers of children ages 2-12 can use the tool to help decide when to seek testing or medical care if they suspect they or someone they know has contracted COVID-19 or has come into close contact with someone who has COVID-19. Tribal members can use the on-line tool to find recommended actions and resources based on their response to questions in the self-checker tool. 

The Indian Health Service (IHS) recently added a list of COVID-19 vaccine events and clinics to their website! The list currently includes events happening in California, Montana, and New Mexico. If you do not live in those states, or do not live near an IHS, Tribal, or urban Indian organization, you can visit www.vaccines.gov to find vaccines near you.

Visit the Vaccine Events and Clinics site here.

The National Indian Health Board is committed to serving Tribal nations in response to the coronavirus outbreak. We welcome your requests and feedback. Contact Courtney Wheeler, MPH, Program Manager, Public Health Policy and Programs at [email protected], 202-507-4081 or visit the COVID-19 Tribal Resource Center.

Join the National Indian Health Board’s (NIHB) Tribal Accreditation Learning Community (TALC) on Monday, February 28, 2022, from 3:00-4:00 PM ET, as we deep dive and engage on key issues from the 2019 Public Health in Indian Country Capacity Scan (PHICCS) and receive updates on upcoming PHICCS activities.

Read more here.  

March 1-15, 2022

Join the Association of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Professionals (AHEPP) for their annual conference on March 1-15, 2022. AHEPP Annual offers an opportunity for Administrators, Emergency Preparedness Coordinators, Directors of Public Health Preparedness, Emergency Managers, RN’s, and professionals in the healthcare preparedness field to share the latest research and best practices, network, and collaborate on ways to move healthcare preparedness forward. During this conference, attendees will be updated on innovative practices in healthcare emergency preparedness and response, and the information shared during the conference will allow participants to improve their facility emergency response plans and improve upon their current disaster response activities.

Learn more and register for the conference here.

Please join the Region 2 and Region 5 National Preparedness Divisions for a webinar on Student Tools for Emergency Planning (STEP).

Who should attend? Educators, School Administrators, After-school Programs, youth-serving organizations, emergency managers and other members of the whole community.

Register for the webinar here.

Tribal Leaders are invited to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Virtual Tribal Consultation on Substance Use Disorder Patient Records, 42 CFR Part 2. The consultation will be held on March 10, 2022, from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET. 

For more information, comments, or concerns, please email [email protected], or you may contact the Director for the Office of Tribal Affairs and Policy, CAPT Karen Hearod, at 202-868-9931.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Division is hosting informational webinars on March 10, March 17, and March 31, 2022, at 2:30 PM Eastern Time for leaders in states, local communities, Tribes and territories, private non-profit organizations, and individuals. The webinars will provide an overview of the individual grant programs, available funding, relevant application process, and deadlines for submitting a successful Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) application.

Registration is capped at 1,000 for each event. Learn about the topics and dates and how to register. The webinars will be recorded and made available on FEMA.gov later.

May 16-17, 2022, Minneapolis, MN

This conference, cohosted by the University of Minnesota and American Indian Cancer Foundation, will address the traditional uses of tobacco and commercial tobacco impact in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities across the United States. A disparate proportion of AI/AN communities use commercial tobacco compared to other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. High prevalences of commercial tobacco use among AI/AN Tribes are directly reflected in the disproportionate rates of chronic diseases in AI/AN populations.

The conference will emphasize AI/AN persons returning to a healthy relationship with tobacco, the importance of creating health equity, and provide an opportunity for networking and collaboration.

Click here for more information.

Fourth Tuesday of each month, at 2:00PM ET

United South and Eastern Tribes (USET), Inc. is now hosting Reclaiming Native Psychological Brilliance, a Tribal Behavioral Health ECHO series. Native Psychological Brilliance refers to the intelligence, strengths, balance, innate resources, and resilience of Native people. This no-cost telehealth series will be held throughout 2022 on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 2:00PM ET. Each session will be one hour in length that will provide an opportunity for participants to:

In addition, the concept of Native psychological brilliance will be highlighted through Native music videos and Native spoken word performances as part of each session of the Reclaiming Native Psychological Brilliance series.

Learn more about the Reclaiming Native Psychological Brilliance series here.

Register for future webinars here.