ADA, Okla. - The Chickasaw Nation recently hosted Deputy U.S. Surgeon General Rear Admiral (RADM) Denise Hinton as she and members of her team gained a historical perspective of Chickasaw Nation advances in First American health outcomes.
Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said dramatic improvements have been made in access as well as variety of health care availability for Chickasaws, as well as members and citizens of other tribes.
“It has been quite a journey from a time we didn’t have clinics or hospitals in the Chickasaw Nation,” Governor Anoatubby said. “We did have hospitals in Lawton and Talihina that are still in those communities, but it was quite a drive for anyone who was qualified to take advantage of their services.”
Governor Anoatubby said citizens often were forced to drive up to 100 miles one way to access medical care. Today’s standard travel distance is reduced to only 35 miles, with the added benefit of tribal transport provided for those who can’t drive.
Governor Anoatubby said the Chickasaw Nation’s partnership with the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) and the Indian Health Service (IHS) has been critical to the tribe’s ability to serve needs.
“We have shared goals,” Governor Anoatubby said. “In order to be able to provide services, we have to have collaboration. We have to have a good working relationship with Public Health Service and Indian Health Service. That relationship is pivotal in advancing the quality and access to health care that we have today.
“We have a mission here at the Nation to enhance the overall quality of life of the Chickasaw people.” He said the same availability of services is extended to members and citizens of other tribes.
Governor Anoatubby said the Chickasaw Nation’s mission extends into many other areas, such as education, care of elders and a host of additional programs, which also include other First Americans.
“The collaboration we have with Public Health Service and Indian Health Service has been instrumental in our being able to improve the health outcomes we enjoy in our communities over the years. We certainly look forward to continuing that relationship.
“It is a partnership. We work together and have similar goals for the future betterment of the people we serve.”
Governor Anoatubby said a significant positive turn in Chickasaw health outcomes came with passage of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, which allowed tribes to compact for and contract for programs intended to serve First Americans.
“In 1994, we compacted for the entire health system with services provided within our area,” Governor Anoatubby said. “This compact did more than just allow us to take responsibility for our own health care system. It allowed us to take control of our tribe’s destiny. It was a major leap in reasserting ourselves, our government and our sovereignty to enhance our ability to self-govern.”
A holistic and mission-driven approach to health care led to listening sessions in which tribal citizens were invited to express their health care concerns and needs.
“We learned what mattered to them, and what needs and priorities they had. They helped inform us of the decisions we needed to make and the direction we needed to go when it came to health care and the services we needed to offer,” Governor Anoatubby said.
Eventually this led to expanding services to those struggling with addiction, mental health issues and partner violence. It also included initiatives in nutritional health, lifestyle and physical fitness.
“We provided community facilities where our people could exercise and obtain healthy foods. We included paths that linked our health care services to our governmental services such as education, rehabilitation, social and legal services, and more,” he said.
From 2005 to 2010, Women, Infants and Children (WIC) offices were opened, as well as a diabetes center.
“When you incorporate other activities like the wellness centers, the health clinics, the outreach services – all those things begin to have synergy. We are able to assist people in every possible way.”
Governor Anoatubby said by 2009, the tribe’s economic development initiatives and business investments began providing enough revenue to increase health care funding. This led to replacing the Carl Albert Indian Health Facility, opened in 1980, with the 2010 opening of the Chickasaw Nation Medical Center (CNMC) in Ada in a joint venture with IHS.
“We believe a joint venture is one of the best programs Indian Health Service has when it comes to the operation of a health care facility,” Governor Anoatubby said. “We have utilized that not only to build a facility here, but to replace the facilities in Ardmore and Tishomingo.
“We have a joint venture now we are working diligently to come to terms on, which I believe will be the premier health facility in Oklahoma, if not the region, serving patients at a higher level than have ever been served in Oklahoma,” Governor Anoatubby said. “We are thankful again for the partnership we have and look forward to the time we come to terms on this new joint venture.
“We believe the sky is the limit, and we’re going to do the very best we can to serve the people and have the highest level of health care for our people they’ve ever had,” Governor Anoatubby said.
Deputy U.S. Surgeon General Rear Admiral (RADM) Hinton said she was impressed by the beauty of the land, the warm reception she and her team received and the impressive health outcomes achieved by the Chickasaw Nation.
“The area is beautiful. Driving here to the Chickasaw Nation and seeing the (Chickasaw Nation Medical Center) facility, it is incredibly gorgeous,” Hinton said.
“We appreciate coming here and being greeted by Governor Anoatubby and talking about the partnership and the importance of the partnership between the Indian Health Service and the Public Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services,” she said.
“The Chickasaw Nation, in and of itself, is so critically important. Our impression is the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Health Service and the community at large is just that – a community.
“The social determinants of health represented (by the Chickasaw Nation) are not just in words and paper and concepts but are lived here every day,” she said.