Tribe breaks ground, touts bigger clinic

Cherokee work starts in Jay

— The groundbreaking of a new healthcare clinic in Jay will lead to better service for patients in the region, Bill John Baker, Cherokee Nation principal chief, said Monday.

Tribal councilors have pleaded for a new healthcare clinic in the Oklahoma city for years, Baker said.

“If we don’t cover health, we have nothing,” Baker said to a crowd of about 200. “Quality health care in Delaware County and its surrounding communities is extremely important.”

The 42,000-square-foot health center will replace a clinic in Jay of nearly half the size. Construction will start next week and is expected to take a year, Travis Noland, communications managerfor Cherokee Nation Businesses, said.

The $13.5 million facility is a part of a $100 million plan for health-care improvement that includes a new hospitalin Tahlequah along with another new clinic in Ochelata and expansions to clinics in Stilwell and Sallisaw, a news release states.

Noland said funding for the improvement plan comes from Cherokee Nation Businesses, which is a tribal-owned holding company of the Cherokee Nation.

Baker said: “For the first time ever we are taking a substantial amount of money and putting it in health care. Quite frankly, it is the right thing to do.”

Shawn Slaton, the chief executive officer of Cherokee Nation Businesses, said nearly 75 percent of employees for the company are Cherokee. He said investments in health care will benefit not only them but also their families.

The Sam Hider Health Center in Jay has been overcrowded for years, Baker said. He said a new facility will help people receive treatment quicker.

“What that really means is that our doctors will have three exam rooms instead of one so that the lines will be shorter,” Baker said.

The Sam Hider Health Center was built in 1989 and employees 100 people, according to the news release. It says the center provides services regarding primary care, behavioral health, contract health, dentistry, nutrition, laboratory work, optometry, radiology, public-health nursing, and the Women, Infants and Children nutritional program. It also has a diabetes program, a pharmacy and patient-benefits advocates.

Connie Davis, the executive director of Cherokee Nation Health Services, said care provided at the center is quality but a lack of space makes treating patients in a timely way difficult.

“Patients call and complain about how long it takes them to get in,” Davis said.

Having more exam rooms will shorten patients’ wait time she said. She said the new clinic will also expand its hours from nine hours a day to 12 hours.

Cherokee Nation health centers are open to citizens of any federally recognized Indian tribe, said Amanda Clinton, director of communications for Cherokee Nation. She said Cherokee Nation bills private insurance along with Medicare and Medicaid for services.

“Services not covered by those billing methods are covered by the Cherokee Nation through either federal funding or tribal funding, which is generated from the tribe’s casinos and other businesses.”

Baker said that several clinics have been built in Oklahoma on the border of other states such as Missouri and Arkansas, such as the one in Jay, to provide easier access to the clinics for citizens in Indian tribes living in neighboring states.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 01/28/2014

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