Roberta Jose- Bisbee, Nimiipuu Health executive Director - Roberta earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in December of 2005. Roberta has served as the Executive Director of Nimiipuu Health for three years, and she has served one year in an Interim capacity. She has extensive work history, having worked in Human Resources in several positions, also serving as the Manager of that department for two years and having a cumulative of eight years with Human Resources experiences. Roberta served on the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, as the Assistant Secretary-Treasurer for three years and the Health and Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman for three years. Roberta has served as the first at-large member of Health & Human Services Secretary Sebelius Tribal Advisory Committee known in the Indian Health Service (IHS) world as STAC, she served all three years as one of five positions of the at-large appointments.

Roberta is currently appointed to the IHS Director’s Purchased Referred Care (PRC) Workgroup, which evaluates the PRC formula. Roberta is actively participating in the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, and she provides representation to the Tribal Health Director team.  Roberta is also a board member to the Tri-State Memorial Hospital Foundation Board. With Roberta’s leadership she was an advocate to initiate and develop the first Memorandum of Understanding with Health & Human Resources, Region X, and the State of Idaho’s Health & Welfare Department in 2014. Roberta is married to an enrolled Nez Perce, and they have four enrolled Nez Perce children, we are active citizens in the local and surrounding Nez Perce communities. She takes pride in being an active tribal member participating in tribal government as a previous NPTEC member and participating on boards and commissions of the Tribe. She has the passion to help our Nez Perce people with growth and prosperity. Roberta brings her 15 plus years work experiences and job skills to help our Tribe succeed and administer approved policies consistently with the highest level of integrity.

Carmalita is a Lapwai High School Graduate. She earned her Certificate of Office Technology and Associates of Applied Science in Administrative Office at Lewis-Clark State College (LCSC). She continued there at LCSC, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.  Carmalita was born in Lewiston and raised in Lapwai. She has three siblings and is married to Gabriel Bohnee. Together they have four children—Cecilia, Evelyn, Lucinda, & Christopher Bohnee. She enjoys traveling with her family, attending Joseph Days, going to concerts, camping, going to the mountains to gather, reading, and shopping online. Carmalita’s favorite food is her husband Gabe’s cooking. She has worked in the HR field for over 10 years but has also worked in other positions within Nimiipuu Health and at Nez Perce Tribal Enterprises.

Sergio Islas is the newly appointed Financial Management Officer for Nimiipuu Health. Mr. Islas is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, with over 8 years of experience in a medical setting.  Mr. Islas attended the University of Portland where he graduated in 2010, double majoring in German and Spanish. In 2011, Sergio continued his studies at the University of Portland’s School of Business, where he obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA); with a concentration in Healthcare Administration.

In 2012, Sergio began his professional career with the Portland Area Indian Health Service (IHS), which oversees the delivery of healthcare to Native people in the Northwest. At the Portland IHS, he worked as a Human Resources Specialist, specializing in Employee and Labor Relations, Performance Management, Benefits Administration, and Ethics. He was directly responsible for servicing the Fort Hall, Warm Springs, and Colville IHS Service Units, as well as the Portland Area Office.

In 2016, Mr. Islas transferred to the California Area Indian IHS, to assist with the opening and staffing of the California Area’s two Youth Regional Treatment Centers.

Moving back to the Nez Perce Reservation in 2019, Mr. Islas began working at Nimiipuu Health in November 2020. He enjoys the work he has done but believes there is always room for improvement. He is excited to be taking on this new role in a healthcare setting. He truly believes that the efforts of the Finance Office support a work environment that allows the NMPH Team focus on the mission: “To provide quality healthcare in a culturally sensitive and confidential setting.”

James attended Lewis Clark State College where he received a technical Associates degree. He has 10 years’ experience in the IT field and has been in service to Nimiipuu Health since 2015. He provides leadership for the continued development of an innovative, robust, and secure information technology environment throughout Nimiipuu Health. The Information Technology department delivers IT infrastructure and services, information security systems and compliance, administrative systems, and user support services. He grew up in east Kamiah and graduated from Kamiah High School. James’s idea of fun is video games, car shows, and spending time with family.

Jim has been serving as Facilities Manager for Nimiipuu Health since May 2021.  In this role he also functions as the Safety Officer. Jim earned his Associates degree in Liberal Arts at Whatcom Community College in 1984 and moved on to attain his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology at Western Washington University in 1987.  Originally from northwest Washington state, Jim has worked as a technician and manager of maintenance teams in a variety of environments including lumber, dairy processing and frozen fruit and vegetable processing. Jim has served as an adjunct instructor on the faculty of Bellingham Technical College (BTC) and as an electro-mechanical program advisory board member also at BTC.  Jim has designed and overseen the construction of buildings and structures for manufacturing processes. He has also facilitated process improvement and lean manufacturing efforts in manufacturing environments.  Jim has extensive experience leading safety teams in these environments as well. Jim moved to Idaho with his wife Jennie, to serve the Nimiipuu people and support his family including a son, daughter-in-law and grandson. In his spare time, Jim enjoys skiing in the winter and fishing in the summer.

Rebecca, or Becca, attended LCSC’s Nursing Program and graduated with her BSN in 2014.  After a few months working for SJRMC’s Mental Health unit after graduation Becca applied to NMPH and has been here since.  Becca also earned a BFA from WSU in 1998 and has some of her work hanging in the Pullman Regional Hospital as well various private collections.  Becca comes from a Military family, is a former Army wife and has lived in various parts of the Lower 48, Alaska and Europe.  Becca enjoys being a nurse at NMPH. In her spare time, Becca enjoys making art and painting, she also collects rocks. She loves her family and country.

Behavioral Health Director – Karen Graduated with honors in 2012 from Boise State University with a Master’s degree in Social Work. She attended Walden University working towards her PhD. She was originally hired by Nimiipuu Health in April of 2016 as a Co-occurring Therapist and in March of 2018 she was promoted to the Behavioral Health Director. Karen has worked for the clinic for over 6 years and has been a clinician for over 11 years. Under her direction, the Nimiipuu Health Behavioral Health Department has increased services and hired on new staff. She is a big proponent of supporting her staff in their professional development. She enjoys taking care of her horses, travelling and spending time with family.

Dental Hygienist – Joanna graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. She attended the American Institute of Health Technology Dental Hygiene where she received a degree in Science, Dental Hygiene. She became a Licensed Dental Hygienist in June of 2005. On November 23, 2005 she was hired as a Dental Hygienist with Nimiipuu Health. She currently serves in the capacity of Dental Director. She has been employed at Nimiipuu Health for over 15 years.  JoAnna has been married to her husband Wade for over 20 years and they share 5 children.  Her hobbies include restoring old furniture, boating, and camping.

Originally from sunny California, Dr. Huh graduated from Illinois College of Optometry in 2010. She joined Nimiipuu Health in 2014 where she has been serving as the sole Optometrist and has been a valuable member of our team. Prior to working at NMPH, Dr. Huh practiced at Navajo Area Indian Health Service (NAIHS) in Chinle, AZ and Libertyville Vision in Libertyville, IL.  Dr. Huh is married with one daughter. She also has a fur baby, Roblus, a Bouvier des Flanders who was born in September of 2020. In her spare time, Dr. Huh enjoys being outdoors. Her whole family, Roblus included, love the water. She has yet to go huckleberry picking, but maybe this year she will get her chance to gather some delicious berries with her family.

Tyler earned a degree in chemistry at the University of Utah prior to completing the Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy. He recently joined Nimiipuu Health Fall of 2022 and is excited for the opportunity to meet and serve the community. Tyler has 14 years of pharmacy experience and just left Lewiston Walgreens as the pharmacy manager to take this opportunity.

Originally from Southern Utah, he has lived abroad in Vienna, Austria, as well as Salt Lake City, Utah, and Roswell, New Mexico. Dr. Cowart is married with 5 kids, 4 sons, 1 daughter, and a Belgian Shepherd that is commonly mistaken for a wolf or bear. In his spare time, Dr. Cowart likes to hike, play racquetball, play board games, and read.

Brenda has worked as a Laboratory Technician since 1988 starting at the Pathologists Regional Laboratory. From there she moved to the Laboratory Technician at Lewiston Medical Center in 2005, then in 2007 to Raw Materials Technician at Veterinary Medicine Research and Development. She came to Nimiipuu Health in 2012 and has been serving as the NMPH Laboratory Supervisor since 2019. Brenda received her Phlebotomist Certification in 1997, and she became a Certified Lab Technician with American Society of Clinical Pathologists in 2018. She has been married for 36 years, and she has 2 grown children and 2 grandsons.

Leslie graduated with her BSN from Idaho State University in 1988. She worked in Home Health for many years before getting a position at the Ft. Hall Clinic on the Shoshone/Bannock Reservation. Leslie was hired at Nimiipuu Health in 2001 and has held many positions during her time here. She is currently the Community Health Department Manager. She is the current QI/Risk Chair, she does Case Management and Discharge Planning, she performs in-home care visits and medication management. She is a champion for the elder community, serving on the Adult Protection Multi-Disciplinary Team and never giving up on the assisted living facility in our own community dream.

Pam attended Culdesac Public Schools and is an enrolled Nez Perce Tribal Member. She has 20 years’ experience as a Medical and Life Insurance Underwriter and 20 years’ experience in PRC at Nimiipuu Health where the goal is to provide exceptional healthcare with compassion, respect and dedication.  As an employee of Nimiipuu Health, Pam strives to provide the best customer service to all patients and communities that we serve. Pam especially enjoys helping our Elders because they like sharing an occasional funny story, words of wisdom, or family history. In her off-time, Pam loves to remodel her Grandparents’ House where she has been residing since 1989. Pam also likes to spend time gardening and says her happy place is her backyard oasis while entertaining friends and family. One quote Pam likes to live her life by is, “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”- Maya Angelou

Tina graduated from Chemawa as Salutatorian of our senior class in 1978.  While at Chemawa she was selected to be on the National Honor Society and attended conferences in Washington D. C. as a senior.  She completed credit requirements early and was allowed to work in the afternoons at the Internal Revenue Service.  Tina made life-long friendships from around the States from attending Chemawa. After graduation Tina had a daughter, Stephanie.  Tina attended ITT Tech in Boise for a short time but had to relocate home to Kamiah due to her daughter being ill.  Tina also attended LCSC and came very close to receiving her degree. Tina has been working for Nimiipuu Health since 1984 and served in several capacities including Contract Health Service, Information Technology as the RPMS Site Manager, Business Office as a Billing Technician and Business Office Manager, and the Interim Executive Director for two years.  Tina has truly enjoyed the opportunity to move around to different positions within NMPH. She says it has made her time here exciting and she has some of the best friends she will love for a lifetime.

Tina was selected by the NMPH Health Board and Executive Director, Karen Carter, to the National Libraries of Medicine/National Institutes of Health for an Internship during the 1990’s.  Under this internship, Tina was able to travel to many different clinics, hospitals and medical libraries and one conference allowed her to attend the opening of the Smithsonian Native American Museum grand opening. Tina had two more children in 1996 and 1998, sons Costas and Andreas’.  Her family is the most important part of her life and they spend a lot of time camping and traveling together.  They love to camp on the Red River, Selway and Lochsa Rivers, traveling as a large group to the Oregon coast every year.  Tina is looking towards retiring in five years, with plans to hike and travel.  One of her first goals is to spend approximately six months hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

McCoy is an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe and is a 7^th Generation descendant of Old Chief Looking Glass. McCoy has spent most of his life serving the Nez Perce Tribe in various capacities including Casino Security Officer, Fisheries Department, Head Start teacher (Teacher Mac), Boys & Girls Club staff, and coordinator of the Community Center. He then served 12 years on the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee. This being McCoy’s first experience working at Nimiipuu Health, McCoy enjoys working on improving the quality of healthcare here at NMPH. McCoy says he has a beautiful wife who has blessed him with three beautiful, smart & talented daughters. Mr. Oatman’s idea of fun is traveling with his family to his daughter’s dance competitions and also, spending the summer month’s camping with his family in the Nimiipuu Homelands.

Cara Montelongo earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Eastern Washington University in 2011. She has worked in several capacities involving communication including Intimate Partner Violence Advocacy, Training and Development, and Enterprise Marketing.  She was hired on as the Nimiipuu Health Communication Specialist in March of 2021 and later promoted to the Communications Program Manager. Cara has a loving husband and three children, twin boys and one girl. She loves to be active and spend time at home or in the mountains with her family.  Having a strong fondness of indoor cycling, she teaches classes at the NMPH Fitness Center. Another passion of hers is community, which is why she serves on the Lapwai City Council and loves the position she is in for NMPH.