News from Great Plains Tribal Health Board

June 3, 2025

A Visit From an Old Enemy: How a Long-Forgotten Virus Is Testing Tribal Immunity in the Great Plains

*Article Originally Published in the May issue of the Great Plains Tribal Health Magazine Measles was pronounced “eliminated” in the United States twenty-five years ago. Yet immunity gaps on the Northern Plains have welcomed the virus back, threatening elders, disrupting clinics,

May 28, 2025

EMERGENCY HEALTH ALERT: MEASLES SPREADS RAPIDLY—TRIBAL COMMUNITIES AT RISK

The Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center is issuing an urgent public health alert warning of a looming measles outbreak across the Great Plains region and its tribal reservations.   Recent surveillance (May 6–11, 2025) has documented major clusters in the TX/NM/OK/KS

March 3, 2025

Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board Celebrates Chairwoman Janet Alkire’s Recognition as USA Today’s Woman of the Year

Rapid City, SD (March 3, 2025) – The Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board (GPTLHB) proudly congratulates Chairwoman Janet Alkire of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on being honored as one of USA Today’s Women of the Year. This prestigious

January 14, 2025

Great Plains Epidemiology Center’s Dr. Meghan O’Connell Receives Prestigious HIMSS Changemaker Award

RAPID CITY, SD – The Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board is thrilled to announce that Dr. Meghan O’Connell, MD, MPH (Cherokee), Lead Epidemiologist for the Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center, has been named a 2025 recipient of the esteemed

January 6, 2025

Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board Celebrates Five Years of Clear Audits

The Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board (GPTLHB) recently achieved a significant milestone: five years of clean financial audits. This shows that the Health Board has managed its money well, an essential factor in building trust with the public. GPTLHB