Whiting-Sorrell resigns Indian Health Services job

BILLINGS (AP) - The director of the Billings Area Indian Health Service has resigned less than 18 months into the job, saying her efforts to improve health care for Indians were being crippled by a dysfunctional system.

The Billings Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1fWcjmI ) Anna Whiting-Sorrell complained about the quality and level of services provided. The Billings-area IHS provides health services to more than 70,000 Native Americans and Alaska Native people in Montana and Wyoming.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, says he is calling for an investigation into the delivery of services at IHS, specifically related to the Billings region.

Whiting-Sorrell came to IHS after four years as director of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

IHS officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.