Cherokee Nation To Assume Operations of W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.- The Cherokee Nation announced today its decision to assume operations at W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital, which is currently operated by the Indian Health Service.
“We will create a comprehensive, integrated health care system that will provide improved care for our patients,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “Most other large tribes in the Oklahoma area operate the Indian hospitals in their jurisdictional boundaries. This has proven effective for improving patient care and reducing waste and redundancy in the system. The patients report that the health care system is much easier to utilize and the confusion considerably decreased. After months of study and discussion with the Indian Health Service, we have decided that integration of the two systems will provide more funding for health care and ultimately more access to high quality care. The comprehensive health system will consist of both inpatient and outpatient services at Hastings and the tribally operated clinics.”
“The planning process has been well organized,” said Meredith Frailey, Speaker of the Council and representative for Mayes County. “We’re taking a good look and analyzing, not just making a quick decision but making the best decision for all Indian people in our area.”
As a tribally operated facility, Hastings would continue to receive existing IHS funds, but also be eligible for grants and joint venture projects that could bring in millions in additional health care funding in the future.
“We currently receive more than $30 million in health care grants, and are getting ready to begin our second joint venture project to build a new health care clinic,” Smith said. “As an IHS facility, Hastings isn’t eligible for those programs, but after the Cherokee Nation assumes operations those funding sources will open up as well.”
“Creating a comprehensive health care system will provide better service to our patients and allow our providers to coordinate patient care in ways they have never been able to before,” said Melissa Gower, who leads the Cherokee Nation Health Services Group. “A comprehensive health care system also saves money and time by eliminating multiple layers of federal red tape. Hiring a doctor might now take days instead of months. The patients’ health information will be more easily shared between the hospital and the outpatient clinics once the systems are integrated. It just makes sense on every level. This is a better system for the patients, and it’s also a better system for the doctors, nurses and health care providers.”
“Over the past few months, Cherokee Nation and W.W. Hastings staff worked together on a plan to create an integrated, comprehensive health care system, and they quickly saw the benefits to our patients of a consolidated medical staff,” said Dr. Gloria Grim, the medical director for Cherokee Nation. “The medical staff at W.W. Hastings is top notch and has excellent ideas to improve patient care through improved patient flow and improved processes. Their enthusiasm is contagious and we all want to make W.W. Hastings and Cherokee Nation Health System the best health care delivery system in the area.”
The patient eligibility would not change if the Cherokee Nation begins operating some or all of the services at Hastings.
“Anyone who goes to Hastings now will still be eligible to go to Hastings once the services are operated by the Cherokee Nation,” Gower said. “Just like at Cherokee Nation operated clinics, we will see patients who are members of any federally recognized tribe.”
Gower says the Cherokee Nation wants every employee at Hastings to stay working at Hastings.
“Cherokee Nation wants the patients to have the comfort of knowing that they will be able to see their same trusted physicians, nurses and health care providers,” Gower said. “Every position will become either a federal employee paid for by the Cherokee Nation or a tribal employee.”
“Things are moving along smoothly,” said Janelle Fullbright, who represents Sequoyah County on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council and is co-chair of the health committee. “A lot of thought and study has gone into this process, and I think the overall result will be quicker and more efficient services for our people.”
Tribes are allowed by federal law to assume operations of hospitals within their jurisdictional area. The Cherokee Nation will assume operations of Hastings around the beginning of the new fiscal year, which is October 1. For more information about the Cherokee Nation’s comprehensive health care system, please visit the Cherokee Nation web site at
www.cherokee.org.