Two tribes are vying for control of the W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
The Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians both want to manage the facility under an Indian Health Services contract.
The hospital serves 115,000 tribal members in the area.
The Cherokee Nation has experience in managing IHS facilities. The tribe won a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said the government had to fully fund its self-determination contracts.
The Keetoowah Ban wants to run the hospital to ensure its members are receiving adequate services, a spokesperson said. "We’re trying to get contract services out of IHS — not trying to fight with the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. We’re trying to get service we should receive," Sammy Still told The Muskogee Phoenix.
Get the Story:Keetoowahs to seek control of W.W. Hastings Hospital (The Muskogee Phoenix 1/16)
Cherokees eyeing hospital takeover (The Tahlequah Daily Press 1/14) $rl Cherokee Nation - http://www.cherokee.org
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians - http://www.keetoowahcherokee.org
