Rocky Boy opens new health center

The Chippewa Cree Tribe welcomed people Friday to the grand opening of the new Rocky Boy Health Center with a ribbon cutting ceremony and tours.

Chippewa Cree Business Committee member Daryl Wright II said the health center was a victory for the tribe, the community and for Montana.

"I think this is a testament to what we can do as a community and when we do come together and focus on one goal, which is bringing better health care to our people," Wright said during the grand opening ceremony.

The project was almost a decade in the making. Massive flooding, that was declared a federal disaster on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation and in Hill County, led to the clinic being condemned in 2010, just two years after it opened.

Planning for the new facility, which was erected on Upper Box Elder Road near Stone Child College and the reservation justice facility, began almost immediately, but took years to complete. The center had a soft opening earlier this year.

Members of the community and the surrounding area, including representatives for the state government, made an appearance Friday with more than 300 people in attendance.

Earl Arkinson, member of the Native American Church, spoke at the event, blessing the building and welcoming everyone to the grand opening.

"One of the elders said you can have all the money in this world, you can have materialistic things, but that don't mean nothing," Arkinson said. "He said when you have good health is more important."

Chippewa Cree's Business Committee Chairman Harlan Baker, who could not attend, said in a letter, "Today is an exciting day, a chance at providing new and improved health care to our community."

"As the Business Committee, we are blessed to be able to better serve through the use of our new facility," Baker continued.

Baker said the Business Committee is charged with the duty to promote and protect the health, security and general welfare of the Chippewa Cree Tribe. The tribe's goals are to provide opportunities that grow and enrich the tribe and improve every individuals spiritual, physical and mental health to create a healthy community.

"May we be blessed with health, peace and happiness," Baker said, "as we continue to, in the words of Chief Rocky Boy, 'Love one another and take care of each other.'"

A representative from Gov. Steve Bullock's office read a letter from the governor.

"All Montanans deserve access to high quality health care in their communities," Bullock said.

"The Rocky Boy Health Center is an exciting and important resource for the Chippewa Cree Tribe," Bullock added. "The Rocky Boy Health Center provides essential services and reliable support to some of our most vulnerable and underserved communities."

Bullock said in his letter that he looked forward to the positive influence this facility will have on the local community and all Montanans. He commended the hard work and dedicated work that made the facility possible.

"The new Rocky Boy Health Center is a result of the community coming together and serves as an example of great things Montanans can accomplish when they set their sights on a common goal," Bullock said. "Congratulations on this remarkable community achievement."

A representative from the office Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., read a statement from the senator.

"Since 2010 there have been significant hurdles to health care access in Box Elder and other Rocky Boy communities, but through hard work and perseverance this facility is ready to serve the Chippewa Cree people," Tester said.

Tester congratulated the community on the health care center and thanked center CEO Jessica Windy Boy and the members of the Business Committee for their persistence and drive to complete the facility and get it into operation.

Windy Boy welcomed everyone to the new health center and recognized her staff at the center. She said that during the winter some staff members got up at four and five each morning to get to the health center because they understood that there were people in the community who needed life-saving care.

"Without the staff, we can't provide the type of services our community needs," Windy Boy said.

Windy Boy added that the focus of health care in the future is preventative medicine.

The diabetes program was recently reauthorized, and a separate program was recently authorized, supported by state Medicaid, called Tribal Health Improvement Program with the goal to keep the community healthy and out of the emergency rooms and hospitals. The program is developed on preventative medicines that are integrative and set to the cultural needs that the tribe determines for the community, she said.

Business Committee member Wright also thanked Plain Green, the online lending company at Rocky Boy, for the company's contributions to the health center and presented them with a star quilt.

"It has been a privilege and a pleasure to be able to serve the (tribe) over the last few years," said Jay Abbasi, CEO of Plain Green Loans. "It really is amazing what you have done and what the people of this community have done."

Representatives of the Social Security Administration presented staff members Dorcus Big Knife, Renita Watson and Jessica Windy Boy certificates of appreciation for their contributions to the community.

Wright also thanked everyone who was involved and had a hand in creating the health care center, including the construction crew.

At the end of the ceremony, Wright called on everyone to sing a victory song.

"This is a victory," he said.

Wright said in an interview after the ceremony that it had been a struggle, after the previous facility was condemned, to build the new clinic and find enough funding above insurance and federal aid, and that the tribe is proud of the facility.

"We funded this facility, the remainder that we had to come up with to build this facility," Wright said. "This is a big victory in terms of coming together and promoting preventive health care."

Business Committee member Ted Whitford said it took many hands to get the project finished and that there were some hard times, but the community persevered and now can rejoice in the new facility.