Welcome to another episode of Impact Unfiltered, where we dive deep into honest conversations with leaders creating real change in healthcare and beyond. In this session, recorded in the “world’s smallest podcast booth” at the Tribal Self-Governance Conference, host Stewart sits down with Jerilyn Church, Chief Executive Officer of the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board (also known as Great Plains Tribal Health), serving 18 tribes across North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa.
Jerilyn Church shares how her organization grew from 88 to nearly 600 employees after assuming management of the former Sioux San Clinic — now Oyate Health Center — one of the largest tribal ambulatory healthcare centers in the Great Plains. Together, they unpack the four-state complexity of serving 18 unique tribes, the Medicaid patchwork that makes coordination challenging, and why Jerilyn believes her region is only 10% of the way toward what’s truly possible through tribal self-governance.
With personal reflections on the grandparents who instilled her drive, hard-earned wisdom on leading through rapid growth, and a clear-eyed call for partners to start with listening, this episode is a master class in mission-driven healthcare leadership.
Tune in for a conversation about sovereignty, scale, and the simple but powerful belief that anything is possible when you believe in yourself first.
1. Introduction to Impact Unfiltered and Episode Overview
- The podcast’s mission: real conversations with leaders driving change in healthcare, business, and community
- Setting the scene at the Tribal Self-Governance Conference
- Introduction of guest: Jerilyn Church of Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board
2. Background and Role of Guest (Jerilyn Church)
- Role as CEO of Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board (Great Plains Tribal Health)
- Serves 18 tribes across North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa
- In current role since February 2012
- Multifaceted organization: regional public health backbone plus direct healthcare provider plus policy and advocacy
3. What Great Plains Tribal Health Actually Does
- Supports tribes’ public health infrastructure across the four-state region
- Augments tribal programs through grants
- Runs an epidemiology center for infectious disease response
- Provides the data tribes need to move healthcare forward on their reservations
- Conducts policy and advocacy work; supports tribal leaders in tribal consultation across all HHS agencies
4. Coordinating Across 18 Unique Tribes
- 18 tribes mean 18 different sets of needs; focus on commonalities while flexing to unique challenges
- Example: one Nebraska tribe is dealing with significant water safety, access, and infrastructure challenges
- Internal submission system routes tribal requests to the right support
- Medicaid complexity: every state has its own program with different coverage
- Standing Rock sits in both North Dakota and South Dakota, creating dual-Medicaid navigation for a single tribe
5. Oyate Health Center: A One-Stop Shop Already at Capacity
- Provides care on behalf of Cheyenne River Sioux, Oglala Sioux, and Rosebud Sioux Tribes
- Primarily serves relatives in Pennington County; open-door policy draws members from Rosebud, Eagle Butte, and Pine Ridge
- Restricted to IHS beneficiaries — community need already outstrips capacity
- Moved into a brand-new facility in 2023; already at capacity
- Delivers primary care, pharmacy, lab, radiology, optometry, and dental — all culturally sensitive and appropriate
- Spending nearly $20 million annually on purchased and referred care; bringing specialty services in-house is the next vision
6. What Healthcare Working Well Looks Like
- Jerilyn Church defines success as moving the needle on disparities that have plagued Native communities for decades
- Fewer relatives needing renal care
- Lower suicide ideation and completions
- A healthier community with faith and trust in its healthcare provider
- Trust from tribal leadership in the work being done
7. Self-Governance as the Greatest Expression of Sovereignty
- The Great Plains region is one of the last to adopt self-governance
- Great Plains tribes are treaty tribes — the long-standing narrative was that the federal government must provide services directly
- Jerilyn Church: there is more than one avenue for treaty obligations to be fulfilled
- Only three self-governance organizations in the region: Spirit Lake Tribe (ND), Winnebago Tribe (NE), and Great Plains Tribal Health
- Quote: “There is probably no greater expression of sovereignty than taking those same resources and saying, we’re going to drive what our healthcare looks like.”
8. Building the Blueprint for Other Tribes
- Internal infrastructure being built for internships, externships, and a planned residency program
- Active conversations with Monument Health and Johns Hopkins on the residency program
- Vision to package the Oyate model as a blueprint and provide education and technical assistance to tribes
- Recognition that specialty care is harder at the village level (recruiting a cardiologist to Eagle Butte is unrealistic)
- Regional tribal specialty care network using technology to fill gaps
- Opportunity under the Indian Healthcare Improvement Act to make North Dakota and South Dakota one service delivery area for purchased and referred care
9. Honest Assessment and Advice to Partners
- Jerilyn Church’s candid estimate: across 18 tribes and other tribal organizations, the region is only ~10% of the way there
- Advice to organizations wanting to support tribes: start with listening
- Every single tribe is unique — even tribes within the same Sioux nation have different needs
- Don’t show up with the solution already in hand
- Quote: “No one loves our community like we do.”
- Take the time to understand the structural barriers — wheels turn slowly for real reasons
10. Leadership, People, and the Power of Vision
- Most proud of her team — grown from 88 employees to nearly 600 after becoming Oyate Health Center
- Constant change is unnatural; leading through it requires vision, shared values, and gratitude
- Talks about vision “all the time” — names it as the secret sauce of the organization’s growth
- Drive comes from grandparents who instilled the importance of education and giving back — and lived it themselves
- Quote: “I remember my grandparents always instilling the importance of education, the importance of giving back to our community. They lived that, they emulated that, and that has always stuck with me.”
11. The Closing Seed: Believe in Yourself
- When asked what she wants every attendee to walk out believing, Jerilyn Church’s answer is simple
- Self-belief is the precondition for impact
- Quote: “If you have that core belief that you can make a difference, that your talent is needed, then anything’s possible.”
12. Closing Remarks and Gratitude
- Host recognition of Jerilyn Church’s leadership across the Great Plains region
- Appreciation for the team she has built and the lives Oyate Health Center is changing
- Encouragement for tribes considering self-governance to study the Great Plains blueprint
