Strongbow Health addresses ‘great need’  

WIXOM, Mich. – Strongbow Health, a new company from JB Medical and Strongbow Strategies, provides an “anchor” in New Mexico for home health products and pharmacy and other services to Native Americans in the Mountain West, says Dr. Stephen Shaya. 

Both JB Medical and Strongbow Strategies are women-owned, family-run companies. Strongbow Strategies, led by CEO Clara Pratte, is also Navajo Native American-owned.  

“The Native American Indian communities traditionally have been severely underserved and they are among the highest in terms of prevalence of diabetes, behavioral health issues, depression etc., so the need is great,” said Shaya, executive servant leader at JB Medical, who noted that there are 574 federally registered tribes and about 4 million Native Americans in the U.S. “Access is a big issue.” 

Strongbow Health will start by providing DME, diabetes and pharmaceutical products to Medicaid beneficiaries in the region and plans to secure contracts with managed care organizations as they expand in the area, Shaya says. 

While other providers have shied away from Medicaid’s low reimbursement, he says that by leveraging technology and economies of scale, Strongbow Health can compete. 

“We feel that we've taken this prior model from an 8-track tape to the proverbial iPhone,” he said. 

Strongbow Health is also looking beyond the immediate health care needs of the Navajo community to create jobs and provide educational opportunities, Shaya says. 

“We feel that the best way to support underserved communities is to partner with them,” he said. “Creating jobs and providing educational opportunities really helps get these communities out of dependency and, we hope, elevates the community.” 

As health care evolves, Shaya sees higher patient engagement as a key piece of optimizing care. 

“I think health literacy is going to become increasingly important and it's clear that, the more educated the patient, the more educated the stakeholders, the better the outcomes,” he said.