Skupien, the Deputy Director for the Office of Public Health’s Indian Health Service in Rockville, Maryland, spoke about promoting health care and healthy lifestyles among Native Americans and Alaska natives and highlighted potential career opportunities for Lake State graduates.

LSSU President Rodney Lowman and First Lady Linda Lowman opened the lecture series Monday evening to a full house in the Lake Superior Room of the Cisler Center. The first lady, in her speech, noted the university has recently reorganized into four new schools. “Each of the four lectures represents each of the four colleges,” she explained. Those lectures this week feature leaders in politics, the environment, criminal justice and Skupien, with health care.

Each of the lectures will be preceded by a performance. Dr. Gary Balfantz introduced Alani Weathers of the Lake State Theater Company, who gave the first of four performances this week. Weathers performed a monologue about a special boy with all the skill and emotion of a world-class storyteller.

Lake Superior State University Board Trustee Jenny Kronk then introduced her sister, Skupien. Kronk shared with the audience cherished family stories of Skupien’s early advocacy and equestrian skills which Skupien later put to good use in her early career as a nurse in Native American communities. She also noted Skupien is the proud grandmother of two.

Skupien then took the floor to present an overview of the Indian Health Service, or IHS, and to identify the major health challenges facing American Indians and Alaska Natives, highlight health programs and examine the positive lifestyle changes Native Americans have made. Skupien explained the Indian Health Service’s mission is to raise the physical, mental, social and spiritual health of American Indians to the highest level. She told of the history of the IHS, which began with a signed treaty with Native Americans to trade land for federal benefits, including healthcare. IHS now has staffs who work with 562 federally recognized tribes in 35 states. The IHS, which also constructs community water supply and waste disposal facilities, is mandated to confer with each of the tribes in administering programs, Skupien explained. “The IHS’s goal is in 20 years to give all the money to the tribes so they can administer and manage their own healthcare programs,” Skupien explained, referring to the agency’s roughly $3 billion yearly budget.

Skupien went on to describe the 1.9 million Native Americans who are served by the IHS. There are 3.3 million Native Americans throughout the United States, not all of whom are served by the health service. Twenty nine percent of those 1.9 million who are covered, Skupien said, fall below the poverty standard; unemployment is four times the U.S. rate for those Native American men and women; life expectancy is 76.9 years for Americans overall versus 72.3 years for the Native Americans and there are vast mortality rate disparities for Native Americans versus the U.S. population.

Alcoholism, diabetes and unintentional injuries are among the causes of death which affect far more Native Americans than the general U.S. population.  Skupien did say there has been an increase in recent years of life expectancy for Native Americans, due to the efforts of the IHS, which administers proactive health programs and community oriented programs which offer doctors, behavioral health specialists, dentists, laboratory services, and diabetes specialists, all centrally located at the service’s health centers.

Skupien explained significant chronic health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer are facing Native Americans. Diabetes was virtually unknown in Native American tribes less than 100 years ago, she said.  “Many of these health conditions and diseases are related to lifestyle choices,” she said, noting diabetes disproportionately affects ethnic, minority and lower socioeconomic groups. But the burden of obesity and diabetes affects many  Americans overall every year, with 1.3 million new cases diagnosed each year in people over 20 years of age, afflicting 18.2 million people in the United States overall, according to statistics she provided in the lecture.

“We can’t talk about diabetes without talking about obesity,” Skupien went on to say. Obesity rates in the U.S. are soaring with only four states now having less than 20 percent of its population at obese levels.  She went on to explain the causes include increased food portion sizes, marketing of high calorie foods, lower instances of eating at home, to name a few. She noted the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians have reported improved health among local tribal residents, with lower blood pressure, decreased lipids in blood tests, decreased blood sugar levels and improved health, thanks in part to staff like Sarah Willey, the tribe’s diabetes educator.

“I think they (the tribe) have made tremendous progress,” Skupien lauded.

Skupien was asked by a member of the audience what LSSU graduates could expect in the way of career opportunities with the Indian Health Service.  Skupien was quick to encourage graduates to apply with the IHS and take advantage of the loan repayment program the service has to offer.

“There’s a myth out there you can’t work for the IHS if you’re not a Native American. That’s a myth. There’s not enough trained Native Americans,” to fill the jobs, Skupien explained. Skupien began her career with the IHS when she took advantage of the service’s loan repayment program after graduating from LSSU with a bachelor’s and associate’s degree in nursing.

According to a press release, Skupien graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a PhD in public health management and policy and has a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in primary care and public health nursing.

A member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Skupien is the Deputy Director, Office of Public Health Support, Indian Health Service in Rockville, Maryland. She provides national oversight over the Epidemiology, Research, Planning and Evaluation, Program Statistics, Loan Repayment, Scholarship and Health Professions Recruitment programs.

According to the press release, Skupien has worked for the past 26 years at all levels in the Indian Health Service – in the service unit as a direct care provider and later CEO; area office as a regional administrator; in two tribal programs and at IHS headquarters – in the Bemidji, Phoenix and Albuquerque areas, and has had two tours at the headquarters of the Indian Health Service in Rockville.

Prior to this assignment, Skupien spent five years as the Health Director for the Sault Tribe.

She is the recipient of numerous awards during her career, including the LSSU Outstanding Alumna Award and the Tempe Dubow Award.

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