Quechan sue federal government over health care

In a recently amended federal lawsuit, the Quechan Tribe alleges that health care facilities and services provided to Native Americans in the Yuma area by the federal government are putting tribal members at risk of harm.

“The tribe and its members rely on the federal government for health care, but the services currently provided are totally inadequate,” said Quechan Tribal President Mike Jackson Sr.

The tribe is asking the federal court to order the United States to maintain its Indian health care facilities in accordance with minimum, generally accepted standards of professional medical care.

The federal government provides health care to Indians through the Indian Health Service (IHS). The medical facilities located on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation near Yuma that serves both the Quechan and Cocopah tribes are the oldest in the IHS system.

According to the lawsuit, IHS officials acknowledged as early as 1988 that the Fort Yuma medical facilities need to be “completely replaced because the buildings were too old, small, and in a deteriorating and unsafe condition.”

The suit also alleges that the medical facilities are not kept sanitary and are not capable of withstanding a major earthquake.

Land has been made available on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation for a new health facility, and IHS studies support the need for a new facility. However, the project has been stalled for lack of funding.

“The tribe has been waiting for over 20 years for a new facility that meets modern medical standards,” said Jackson.

The Quechan Tribe filed its lawsuit after IHS disclosed last year that 44 tribal members were potentially exposed to blood-borne viruses such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C from October 2008 to July 2009 as a result of IHS' failure to use the autoclave sterilizer for instruments used to provide open-wound treatment for patients at the Fort Yuma clinic.

“This is just the most dramatic example of the United States' breach of its trust obligations to the tribe in the delivery of health care services,” said Jackson. “The federal government put the lives of tribal members at risk. IHS has lost the trust of the tribal community.”

The U.S. has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the tribe's concerns should be addressed by Congress, not the court.

Jackson, however, believes the tribe has a strong case.

“If the government is going to provide health care to the tribe, it must ensure that it does no harm to the tribal people. Congress has not acted to protect the tribal people and we need the courts to step in.”