Development and support of scientific, clinical, and community initiatives that support improved health of Great Plains dwellers while promoting and preserving their unique cultural and historical values.
Great Plains dwellers include all occupants of North Central Nebraska and South Central South Dakota. Many races and ethnic groups settled here after the region’s first residents, the Lakota people. While the population increased substantially over the last 200 years, the region continues to meet the contemporary definition of frontier and rural. Unfortunately, the health status of Great Plains dwellers has declined markedly over the same period. The economy of the region lags behind more urbanized areas, and some counties of the region are actually the poorest in the U.S. This combination of disease burden, limited economy, unique cultural features, and remote geography creates special challenges to both intervention and prevention efforts. Here is where a non-profit entity based in the region and dedicated to health solutions can really make difference.