By Michelle Tirado

Come Oct. 1, the W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, Okla., will be operated by the Cherokee Nation. While specific plans have not been hammered out yet, the thousands of Native people who rely on the facility’s medical services can expect positive changes.

W.W. Hastings, opened since 1984, is a 58-bed hospital offering a range of services, including specialized services such as dentistry, internal medicine, intensive care, mental health and podiatry. It employs about 600 and serves well over 100,000 Native people in a 4,300-square-mile area.

There are a few reasons why the Cherokee wanted to assume operations. One of them is, under the control of the Indian Health Service, there were no plans to expand the facility, and more space is needed. The hospital’s patient load in 2007 was 244,000, more than four times what the facility was built to accommodate. In June 2008, according to the tribe, 3,923 women were on a waiting list for preventative health services and exams.

A study conducted by the IHS in 1997 showed that it needed 263,000 square feet to handle current demand, nearly double its size. A fourth, maybe more, of the hospital’s space is being utilized for non-medical purposes. Patient care space, like exam rooms, became storage space after the original storage facility burned down a few years ago.

Left in the hands of the federal government, “It would remain as it is from here ‘til eternity,” said Melissa Gower, group leader of the Cherokee Nation Health Services.

Under the jurisdiction of the Cherokee, an expansion is much more than a possibility. Back in 2001, the tribe had purchased a 45-acre tract adjoining the hospital. It developed a site plan in 2007, featuring a new surgery center, health center and medical storage facility.

Also, because the facility is under federal control, there are federal regulations and processes that Gower said are not conducive to operating an efficient health care system.

This leads to the third reason. The tribe considers assuming the hospital as a step toward fulfilling its vision — to offer a very comprehensive and coordinated health care system. It presently has nine outpatient clinics under its domain. The two area hospitals have been under the federal government’s control.

“If they are all operated under the umbrella of the tribe, then your comprehensiveness and your coordination is all within one system,” Gower said.

The tribe voiced its intent to assume operations of W.W. Hastings in January 2008. It quickly assembled 21 planning teams, one for each hospital discipline. The teams, consisting of hospital staff and tribal employees, were set with the task of determining whether it would be more beneficial if the facility were run by the IHS, a private owner or the Cherokee. Wrapping up in April, the recommendation was, overwhelmingly, that it was best under the umbrella of the tribe. The tribe then entered the negotiation phase, which lasted until July.

What specifically the tribe has planned for W.W. Hastings and how much it plans to invest in improvements are unknown. It is still in the transition phase.

“Once we get the final plan developed, then we will put numbers to it. Then we will look at a financing plan,” Gower said. “This will all take place over the next year.”