Closed Indian Health Clinic Draws Federal Scrutiny There’s No Evidence Of Wrongdoing, But Poor Accounting Practices Blamed

The Spokane Urban Indian Health Clinic is attracting federal scrutiny after financial woes forced it to shut its doors last week.

A review team from the Indian Health Service will visit the clinic on Monday to examine its books and investigate allegations that federal cash was mishandled.

Funded mostly with U.S. tax dollars, the clinic at 905 E. Third runs a $1 million budget and offers care to about 3,000 low-income Native Americans.

Sources indicate the clinic closure stems from past accounting practices that failed to adequately track where the money went.

“There is no proof of any wrongdoing,” said Timothy Webster, acting director of the Indian Health Service’s regional office in Portland. “But of course there have been allegations.”

Webster said the agency’s clinic visit will determine whether a full audit is necessary.

Tom Tremaine, a clinic board member, said it’s too soon to pinpoint the cause of the clinic’s cash-flow crisis.

But he did say the federal government’s recent stop-and-start budget process magnified the clinic’s problems.

“The money has been coming in dribs and drabs,” he said. “We didn’t have the ability to weather the storm….We hope the clinic will reopen.”

Tremaine said the quality of clinic services never suffered. “The shutdown has nothing to do with the quality of care,” he said.

While the clinic is closed, patients are being referred to Indian health clinics on the Colville and Coeur d’Alene reservations.

The clinic’s financial problems apparently surfaced after a management change last November, according to sources.

June Shapiro, director of the city’s human services department, said the health clinic provides a valuable service to Spokane.

, DataTimes