"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - CN Hospital Staff Receive Officer Promotions

Captain Lee Jackson (center) receives his official uniform boards from Dr. Charles Grim (left) and Dale Dreadfulwater (right) during a ceremony recognizing recently promoted Commissioned Corps officers at Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital.

Tahlequah, OK - Several Commissioned Corps officers at Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital received military promotions from the U.S. Public Health Service during a special ceremony held at the hospital.

“On behalf of the Cherokee Nation, we congratulate those receiving promotions,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “We are fortunate to have high-quality professionals working at the hospital, and we appreciate their hard work and dedication helping Cherokees and other Native Americans in their healthcare needs.”

Those receiving promotions were Dr. Anna Miller, promoted to Captain/Doctor, Lee Jackson, promoted to Captain/Engineer, James Chapple and Carla Evans, promoted to Commander/Pharmacist, Steve Scott, promoted to Lt. Commander/Pharmacist, Thomas Meyers, promoted to Lt. Commander/Registered Nurse and Felipe Guzman-Zammaron, promoted to Lt. Commander/Occupational Therapist.

The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is an elite team of more than 6,000 full-time, well-trained, highly qualified public health professionals dedicated to delivering the nation's public health promotion and disease prevention programs and advancing public health science. As one of America's seven uniformed services, the Commissioned Corps fills essential public health leadership and service roles within the Nation's Federal Government agencies and programs by serving on the frontlines in the Nation's fight against disease and poor health conditions. The Cherokee Nation has contracts with several Commissioned Corps officers who work at the hospital and for Indian Health Service.

Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah is a 60-bed inpatient hospital that currently offers services in audiology, public health nursing, dentistry, diabetes, dietary services, EEG/EKG, emergency, fast track clinic, general surgery, intensive care, internal medicine, laboratory, obstetrics/gynecology, ophthalmology, optometry, orthopedics, pediatrics, pharmacy, podiatry, radiology, rehabilitation services, respiratory therapy, social services, Women, Infants and Children (WIC), contract health and behavioral health.

Cherokee Nation Health Services is the first tribal healthcare system nationwide and the first in Oklahoma to receive the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Healthcare Accreditation, a world-wide accreditation which focuses on the quality of patient care throughout an entire health care system. The DNV accreditation matches with the Cherokee philosophy of "gadugi," meaning working together for the benefit of all. The tribe's hospital, eight health centers, EMS service and various health programs work as a team for the benefit of the patients.