"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Cherokee Nation Hospital Gets New Art

"Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital employees Brian Long (left) and Barry Sanders hang artwork in the hospital. Cherokee Nation Entertainment donated $27,000 worth of photographs and art to the hospital."

TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma - Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital is being decorated with photographs and works of art from the Trail of Tears era to the present day thanks to a generous donation from Cherokee Nation Entertainment. CNE donated more than 100 pieces totaling $27,000 for the art, which will be placed throughout the entire facility.

“We are grateful to CNE and their willingness to assist us in obtaining these photographs and pieces of art,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “Our plan is to have our facilities themed to a certain period of Cherokee history. Providing this artwork and these photographs helps us tell our story.”

Themes and their areas include Pre-European Contact and Entering a Community of Nations in Catoosa facilities; 1780 – 1830 Adapting to Intrusion in West Siloam Springs; 1831 – 1845 Surviving Attempted Genocide in Sallisaw and Roland; 1846 – 1860 Re-establishing a Republic and Re-uniting as a Nation in Muskogee and Fort Gibson; 1861 – 1880 Fighting and Healing in Vinita; 1881 – 1906 Patriotism and Pride: Resisting Allotment in Bartlesville; 1907 – 1930 Culture Continues in Spite of Statehood in Nowata and Claremore; 1930 – 1971 Family of Families, Community of Communities in Stilwell and Jay; and 1970 – Present Day Homecoming in Tahlequah, with the 1900s in downtown Tahlequah.

“Our staff has taken great pride and ownership of this project,” said Dr. Charles Grim, Senior Director of Health Services for Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital. “I was recently made aware of a conversation between a patient and a staff member that had both stopped in the hall to admire the new art. They shared stories of what they knew and what they had been taught about Cherokee history. It became obvious that they made a cultural connection before it was over. This project has not only been an esthetical enhancement to the hospital, it has provided a stronger sense of community for our patients and visitors.”

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 health care system nationwide and the first in Oklahoma to receive the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Healthcare Accreditation, a world-wide accreditation that 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, emergency medical services and various health programs work as a team for the benefit of the patients. During the past year, the Cherokee Nation Health system saw more than 240,000 patient visits.