Staff from the Lummi Tribal Health Center describe and discuss the unique challenges to providing psychiatric care in a coordinated and collaborative way to a tribal community during the coronavirus pandemic.
Learning Objectives
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George "Bud" Vana, MD, is a Triple Boarder – having taken three board exams as a general pediatrician, adult psychiatrist and child psychiatrist – practicing at the Lummi Tribal Health Center in Bellingham, Washington. He and his psychiatric team are integrated and collocated (before coronavirus) in the medical clinic, substance abuse program, pediatrics department, school based health clinic and behavioral health department. He finished his BA and MA at Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization. He completed medical school at the University of Vermont and completed residency training at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He completed his outpatient psychiatry training at the Providence Rhode Island Veterans Administration. He has worked to develop a telehealth infrastructure at the Lummi Tribal Health Center as well as a child psychiatry consultation service for other tribal health clinics. His other professional interests include family-based psychiatry, acceptance and commitment therapy, treatment of co-occurring disorders, treatment of developmental disabilities and integrated medical and behavioral healthcare. Outside of work he enjoys canoeing, hiking and curling (as in the Olympic ice sport) with his family in Bellingham.
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Jessica first received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Global Studies at Pacific Lutheran University. After moving to Bellingham, she started working in the non-profit field for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington and later, at Northwest Youth Services, a housing provider for homeless youth. In 2017 she completed her certification in Medical Assisting and started working at Lummi Tribal Health Clinic in 2018. Jessica is passionate about witnessing peoples’ stories and connecting individuals to the appropriate resources to help them achieve their goals.
Cedric Robertson serves as a Peer Recovery Coach at the Lummi Tribal Health Center.
