A recent IHS Joint Venture Construction Program award was presented to the Cherokee Nation’s W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The award provides up to $30 million per year for 20 years to supplement staffing and operation expenses.
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Cherokee Nation operates the largest tribal health system in the U.S., with > 1 million patient visits per year. W.W. Hastings was built 30 years ago to serve 65,000 patients—it now has 400,000 patient visits a year. The addition will expand the campus by > 250,000 square feet, including > 100 examination rooms and dozens of specialty rooms.
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The tribe was notified in January of the award. Calling it a “proud, proud day in the Cherokee Nation,” Principal Chief Bill John Baker said, “Our partnership with IHS will improve the health outcomes of Cherokees for the next 2 to 3 generations and beyond.”
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The Cherokee Nation, which was 1 of 3 tribes selected from a pool of 37 applicants for a Joint Venture Construction project, is also in the midst of a $100 million health care expansion plan using profits from the tribe’s business revenue, and new Ochelata and Jay health centers are under construction.