Cherokee Nation opens new $14 million health center in Jay

JAY, Okla. (AP) – The Cherokee Nation has opened a new $14 million health center in northeastern Oklahoma.

The 42,000-square-foot Sam Hider Health Center was opened on Friday to replace a 26,000-square-foot facility that was more than 80 years old.

The new center offers a new physical therapy department and adds space for primary care, dental, optometry, radiology, behavioral health, public health nursing, pharmacy, laboratory, nutrition and diabetes care services. In 2015, the center had more than 77,000 patient visits.

The new center is the final project under a $100 million health care capital improvement plan using tribal casino profits. The Cherokee Nation opened a new health center in Ochelata and expanded health centers in Sallisaw and Stilwell in 2015.

Cherokee Nation Health Services operates the largest tribally run health system in the nation.