2 min read

Episode #137 Interview with Emily Good Weasel, MPH, Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center

Special Featured Episodes

You are in for a treat!This episode is part of a special sponsored series of episodes. Each month, one of the Tribal Epidemiology Centers will be featured, here on the podcast.The purpose is to raise awareness throughout the public health community of the amazing and important public health work that is being done at each of the centers.

About the Tribal Epidemiology Centers

Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TEC) are Indian Health Service (IHS), division funded organizations who serve American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribal and urban communities by managing public health information systems, investigating diseases of concern, managing disease prevention and control programs, responding to public health emergencies, and coordinating these activities with other public health authorities.

TEC centers work in partnership with the local or area Tribes to improve the health and well-being of their Tribal community members by offering culturally-competent approaches that work toward eliminating health disparities that are faced by AI/AN populations. Accomplishing this often requires the TECs to work with a coordinated approach with the Tribes, the Indian Health Service (IHS), other federal agencies, state agencies, and often academic institutions throughout the country.

Tribal Epidemiology Centers provide various types of support and services due to the variation of the TECs organization structure, divisions, Tribal populations, and their mission and goals. There are currently 12 Tribal Epidemiology Centers in the United States.

Spotlight on Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center

On this episode, you’ll learn about the Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center (GPTEC), which is just one of 12 partner Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TECs) funded by the Indian Health Service’s Division of Epidemiology and Disease Prevention to assist in improving the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives throughout the United States.

Emily Good Weasel, MPH, Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center

My guest on this episode is Emily Good Weasel. Emily, is an Oglala Lakota, born and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Emily has spent years gaining education and experience in areas of behavioral health, fitness, nutrition, and working as a Certified Personal Trainer & Health Educator. In 2017, while working on her MPH, Emily became very intrigued with her Epidemiology courses and realized that she wanted to contribute to the areas of data collection, policy, research, and reporting for the tribes in the Great Plains area where she grew up. Emily is currently the IHS Program Manager for the Great Plains Epidemiology Center (GPTEC), a department of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board (GPTCHB), which is a tribal organization that works with (17) tribal nations and (1) service area, in the Great Plains.

Listen to the podcast episode

Emily's Advice to Students and Graduates

Public health is a broad area and it would be wise to get an idea of what area you would like to work in.
Remember that public health is one of if not the most important career fields.
When working with different populations, it's important to really understand who they are as people in order to be able to really understand their need.