Cherokees Break Ground On New Tahlequah Outpatient Center

The Cherokee Nation broke ground on a new 469,000 square foot outpatient health center in Tahlequah on Friday.

The four story center will be located at the W.W. Hastings campus.

When completed in 2019, the Cherokee Nation says it will be the largest health center of any tribe in the country.

“This is a monumental day for the Cherokee Nation, and within just a couple of years, this state-of-the-art facility will be transformative in the lives of our citizens in northeast Oklahoma,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker. 

“The Cherokee Nation has broken barriers in health care throughout Indian Country for years, and with the addition of the new facility and new services that will come with this facility, we will be pioneers in health care recognized throughout the entire nation.”

The tribe says the facility will feature 180 exam rooms; access to an MRI machine; 10 new cardiac, lung and kidney specialists, and, for the first time ever, an ambulatory surgery center.