Prime Highlights
- Chickasaw Nation breaks ground on 2.5 million-square-foot hospital, one of largest First American medical centers.
- New Newcastle campus to house 23 medical specialties, 140 inpatient beds, serving 100,000 tribal citizens.
Key Facts
- Project creates nearly 5,500 jobs; first phase includes 40 beds, emergency department, surgical suites.
- Chickasaw Nation partners with Indian Health Service Joint Venture Program on funding, staffing.
Background
Chickasaw Nation broke ground on what will become one of the largest First American hospitals in the United States, a 2.5 million-square-foot campus set to house more than 23 medical specialties and 140 inpatient beds.
Newly sworn-in Governor Chris Anoatubby led the groundbreaking ceremony in Newcastle, joined by tribal and healthcare leaders alongside Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and U.S. Representative Tom Cole, a member of the Chickasaw Nation.
More than 300 attendees marked the start of construction for a medical center expected to serve over 100,000 tribal citizens in the region and create nearly 5,500 jobs.
Anoatubby said the project builds on the milestone reached when the tribe completed its earlier medical center, calling this expansion another major step forward for First American health care.
The first phase will include 40 inpatient beds, an emergency department, surgical suites, labor and delivery services, behavioral health care, pediatrics, dental clinics and family medicine, along with dedicated research space and an on-site pharmacy. The Chickasaw Nation Health Newcastle Medical Center will sit near I-35 and I-44, between Oklahoma City and the tribe’s reservation.
Dr. Oz highlighted the importance of accessible healthcare, including perinatal care, linking it to the broader goals of the Make America Healthy Again movement.
The project brings together Chickasaw Nation funding and support from the Indian Health Service Joint Venture Program, which partially funds staffing.
Rep. Cole described the partnership as a reflection of the federal government’s trust responsibility to tribal nations, calling it a collaboration built on Chickasaw vision paired with federal resources.
