Rendering of Chickasaw Nation Ardmore Health Clinic.
ARDMORE, Okla. – Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said a recent groundbreaking ceremony in Ardmore marked "a significant milestone" in continuing efforts to enhance health care for American Indians in the area.
Dozens of tribal leaders, local officials, area residents and other guests were on hand 3 p.m. Thursday to break ground for a new 66,000 square foot medical clinic at 2510 Chickasaw Blvd. The new building will be more than six times the size of the original clinic first opened in 1988.
"Providing high quality health care has long been one of our top priorities," said Gov. Anoatubby. "This new state-of-the-art facility will provide more convenient access to Chickasaws and other American Indians in this area."
Once complete, the new two-story building will connect to the current facility via an enclosed corridor. It will include increased space for existing services as well as a significant increase in behavioral health services.
Physical therapy services currently housed in the Ardmore wellness center will be moved to the new clinic.
The new clinic will also include drive-through pharmacy services. Construction of the new facility is expected to be complete in summer 2012. Once complete, staff will increase from 25 to approximately 100.
"Our clients will see even more benefits because this project qualified for the Indian Health Service Joint Venture Funding program," said Gov. Anoatubby. "This program will enable us to increase the size of our staff much more quickly than would have been possible otherwise."
An increase in the number of patient visits led to the need for expanding the capacity of the facility. Planning for expansion of the clinic began in 2009.
The first phase of enlarging the capacity of the clinic consisted of an expansion of the existing facility. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) federal stimulus grant, the phase one remodeling project was completed in September 2010. That project included two new exam rooms, a larger pharmacy with a consultation room and other updates.
In 2010, the Ardmore Clinic had more than 15,000 primary care patient visits and more than 25,000 patient visits for behavioral health, dental care and optometry. Patient visits are expected to grow to more than 24,000 and 48,000 respectively by 2020.
More about the Joint Venture funding program
The Joint Venture construction program was established to develop partnerships between tribes and the Indian Health Service. Under the competitive program, tribes who acquire or construct a tribally-owned health care facility may be selected to participate.
In exchange for purchasing or constructing a health care facility with tribal funds, the Indian Health Service provides funding for certain staffing and operational costs.
History of the Ardmore Clinic:
The Chickasaw Nation opened its first outpatient health clinic in Ardmore on Jan. 14, 1985.
Temporarily located in the west end of the administration building on the Carter Seminary campus , the clinic was staffed by qualified medical personnel including a doctor, a dentist, two dental assistants, a registered nurse, and a physician's assistant.
At the time, the clinic was serving about 31 patients a day.
Prior to the opening of the Ardmore clinic, outpatient and inpatient services were available at Carl Albert Indian Health Facility (CAIHF) in Ada, Okla., while a health clinic in Tishomingo, Okla., provided outpatient services.
In May 1986, the Chickasaw Nation became one of the 13 tribes to be awarded U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant for the construction of a new clinic in Ardmore. More than 30 tribes had applied for the very competitive grants.
Construction of the 10,000 square foot health care facility on three acres in the northwest corner of the Carter Seminary campus began in August 1987. The clinic was opened in July, 1988
In addition to a dental clinic, laboratory and a pharmacy, the new Ardmore clinic housed environmental health services, public health nursing, mental health services, Women, Infants and Children's (WIC) nutrition program, audiology screenings, pre-natal care and well-baby follow-ups after birth.
Result of a decade-long partnership between the tribe and the three federal agencies – Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), IHS and HUD, the Ardmore Clinic strived to meet the health care needs of the Native American population in the southwestern region of the Chickasaw Nation.
Today, the Chickasaw Nation Division of Health (CNDH), under the leadership and vision of Gov. Anoatubby, serves more than 350,000 patients each year in the new state-of-the-art Medical Center in Ada and satellite clinics in Ardmore, Tishomingo, Durant and Purcell. The CNDH staff and employees continue to strive daily to promote better health, wellness and nutrition among the Native American population.
