Cherokee Nation is pursuing a $30 million partnership with the University of Oklahoma to establish a satellite nursing campus in Tahlequah, Okla., as part of a broader effort to address healthcare workforce shortages in the region.
Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner submitted legislation Monday to the Cherokee Nation Council that would convert the tribe’s current W.W. Hastings Hospital into an education center after a new hospital opens this summer. The total investment, including scholarship endowments and annual training funds, exceeds $38 million.
The proposal addresses workforce challenges at Cherokee Nation’s health system, which serves members of all federally recognized tribes and provides more than 3 million patient services annually. The tribe employs 14,500 people across its enterprises.
Under the plan, OU would operate the nursing program…
