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Tahlequah Service Unit
The Tahlequah Service Unit located in the Lakes Country of northeastern Oklahoma, covers 4,300 square miles and comprises the five Northeastern Oklahoma counties of Adair, Cherokee, McIntosh, Muskogee and Sequoyah. The City of Tahlequah, the oldest municipality in Oklahoma and, arguably, one of the most historically significant cities west of the Mississippi River, is the geographic center of the Service Unit Area and the location of W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital, a primary source of health care for American Indians/Alaska Natives.
Population
Population growth for the Service Unit Area continues to significantly outpace the growth of Oklahoma State Cherokee County. According to 2000 census statistics, the population for this area grew by almost 25% while the remainder of Oklahoma grew by only 9.7%. Tahlequah was the eighth fastest growing community in Oklahoma during the 1990's. This burgeoning population, however, has a median income of only
$13, 436, compared to an Oklahoma state median income of $17,646, with 22.9% of the inhabitants falling below the poverty limit, compared with a State wide rate of 14.7%.
Climate
The Tahlequah area enjoys moderate weather year round. The average temperature is 60oF. The lowest temperature on record is -23oF, but the average low is a comfortable 48oF. The highest temperature on record is 118oF. However, the average high temperature is 73oF, with an average of only 79 days above 90oF each year. The annual rainfall is 43 inches with an average of 73 rainy days per year. Snowfall each year averages 9 inches.
Economy/Commerce
Since 1987, the Tahlequah area has been ranked the 4th best all-round retirement location in the United States based on studies of climate, health care facilities, and reasonable cost of living. An economy once dependent largely upon local tourism has become much more diversified in the last ten years. Several businesses across a wide range of industries provide employment opportunities in the Tahlequah Area, including Cherokee Nation (1,600 employees), Northeastern State University (1,000), Greenleaf Nursery (650), W.W. Hastings Hospital (650), Wal-Mart (500), Tahlequah Public Schools (425), Tahlequah City Hospital (350), Housing Authority - Cherokee Nation (300), Lifeline Communication (300), Dollar Rent-A- Car (250) and Tri-B Nursery (200).
Education
The five county area of the Tahlequah Service Unit offers a variety of educational opportunities. There are 81 elementary and 28 secondary schools in addition to several private schools. Largest of the school districts is the Tahlequah Public School that has an enrollment of approximately 3,500 students in grades K-12.
Sequoyah High School, a boarding school for Native American students in grades 9 through 12 is located just outside the Tahlequah city limits, next to the Cherokee Nation complex. Students are eligible to attend if they are members of federally recognized Indian tribes or one-fourth blood descendants of such members. Sequoyah High School's approximate 300-student enrollment represents 42 tribes and 14 different states.
Also, in the area are the Indian Capital Technology Center and Talking Leaves Job Corps Center. Indian Capital Technology Center offers more than 65 areas of study in adult training and development on four area campuses. The center offers concurrent enrollment for high school students at either the Muskogee or Tahlequah campus of the vocational-technical program. Talking Leaves Job Corps is an open-entry/open-exit educational and vocational training program for young adults between 16 and 24, managed by the Cherokee Nation for the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Cherokees, great believers in education, built the original Cherokee National Female Seminary in 1851. The Seminary evolved into Northeastern State University (NSU) one of Oklahoma's leading, and fastest growing, comprehensive regional universities. Students can choose from 60 undergraduate degrees, 16 graduate programs and 14 pre-professional programs in 6 colleges. NSU hosts the only College of Optometry in the state of Oklahoma and offers a B.S.N. program for nurses already possessing an associate degree or diploma in nursing.
Also in the immediate area is Bacone College, a four-year liberal arts college, located in Muskogee. Bacone, the oldest college of continuous education in the state of Oklahoma, is affiliated with the American Baptist Church and embraces a historic educational mission to American Indians.
Outside the immediate area, but within 90 minutes by car, are the University of Tulsa, Oral Roberts University, Tulsa Community College, Connors State College, Rogers State University, Tulsa extensions of the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Langston University and University of Arkansas.
Transportation/Access
The region has adequate road and highway accessibility, with Interstate Highway 44 just 60 miles to the north and Interstate 40 only 40 miles to the south. There is no existing public transportation between the communities of the Service Area. Residents are largely dependent upon private transportation.
The Service Unit Area is also connected to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers through the Port of Muskogee, no more than 30 miles distance from any area location.
Full-service international airports are located in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, just 75 and 147 miles, respectively, from Tahlequah. The Tahlequah Regional Business Airport is located at the west edge of town adjacent to the Tahlequah Industrial Park. The 5,000 foot runway provides local access to corporate jet traffic as well as local private air traffic. A 2,600-foot turf runway is located one mile south of Cookson on the shores of Lake Tenkiller at Tenkiller Airpark.
Housing
As one of the oldest towns in Oklahoma, Tahlequah contains many homes that date back to the 1800s. Most of these homes have been remodeled to include modern amenities. Residents of the Tahlequah Service Unit Area are largely homeowners (66.8%), which is comparable to the State as a whole (68.4%). The numbers of residents per household is also comparable to the entire state with the Service Unit Area reporting 2.52 residents per household compared to 2.49 residents per household reported as the state wide average. A large selection of rental housing is also readily available. Most residents have access to basic utilities, including water, sewer and electricity through towns or cooperatives. The remaining residents have ready access to water from private wells and have adequate septic systems. Rare is the resident who has no access to these amenities.
Health Care
A federally operated Indian Health Service hospital, the W. W. Hastings Indian Hospital was opened in 1936. Originally, the hospital employed 49 staff and housed 75 beds. Other than a new wing, added in 1964 to keep pace with the growing patient population, the original Hastings Hospital served the Indian population well for many years.
Construction of a new 135,000 square foot facility was completed in January 1984. The new hospital had a staff of 289, an inpatient area of 60 beds and an expanded ambulatory service program. Once vacated, the original hospital structure was deeded to Northeastern State University, and now houses the only College of Optometry in the State of Oklahoma.
The hospital annex building was completed in 1997 to meet the increasing demands of the patient population. The Annex now houses the business office, human resources, performance improvement department and medical records data entry staff and provides space for Cherokee Nation Public Health Nursing and Behavioral Health Services.
An expansion project on the main hospital building was completed in 2003, increasing the hospital area to 147,541 square feet. This expansion resulted in more space for direct patient care.
With more than 650 employees, the hospital now offers a variety of services including: internal medicine, emergency medicine, urgent care, radiology, ultrasound, computerized tomography, general surgery, orthopedics, dental, ophthalmology, pediatrics, audiology, Obstetrics/Gynecology, physical therapy and podiatry, as well as specialty clinics in diabetes management, pediatric neurology, adult and pediatric cardiology, cleft palate and ear, nose and throat.
Each year the patient population continues to increase. During 2003 Hastings Hospital provided care to more than 126,000 registered patients, accounting for more than 220,000 patient contacts. While the largest percentage of patients are members of the Cherokee tribe (75%), a significant number of patients are from other federally recognized tribes, including, Creek (8%), Choctaw (7%) and 10% from all other tribes. The jurisdictional service area includes five counties in northeast Oklahoma, but patients from 40 states and all but three Oklahoma counties were served during 2003.
To more aptly describe the full scope of patient care options available at the facility, hospital administration has formally proposed that the name W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital be changed to Hastings Indian Medical Center.
In addition to the Hastings Hospital, several additional tribally operated health care centers are located within the Tahlequah Service Unit Area. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation operates one outpatient clinic from Eufaula.
Eufaula Indian Health Center - Eufaula, OK
Services Include: General Health Women's Health, Dental Services, Laboratory, Radiology, Pharmacy and Public Health Services
The Cherokee Nation also operates three outpatient clinics within the boundaries of the Tahlequah Service Unit:
Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center - Stillwell, OK
Services Include: Outpatient medical (including pediatrics and internal medicine), Dental, Optometry, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy, Laboratory, Radiology, Nutritional Services, Mammography, Public Health Nursing, WIC, Contract Care, Behavioral Health and translation services in Cherokee. The clinic offers treadmill testing and specialty clinics for diabetic and prenatal patients.
Muskogee Health Center - Muskogee, OK
Services Include: Outpatient medical; WIC, Laboratory, Pharmacy, Behavioral Health
Redbird Smith Health Center - Sallisaw, OK
Services Include: Outpatient medical, Dental, Optometry, Radiology, Behavioral health, Public Health Nursing, Pharmacy, Laboratory, Community Nutrition and Contract Care.
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