Cherokee Nation commits $39M to expand Indigenous healthcare capacity and workforce pipeline

The Cherokee Nation has announced more than $39 million in education, workforce, and infrastructure investments to strengthen healthcare capacity for Cherokee citizens. The funding includes a $1 million Public Health and Wellness Merit Scholarship, $1 million for short-term healthcare training scholarships, a $5 million scholarship endowment, $2 million annually for health profession scholarships and workforce programs, and more than $30 million–awarded earlier this year–to transform the former W.W. Hastings Hospital into the Cherokee Nation Nursing and Allied Health Education Center in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The initiative, in collaboration with the Cherokee Nation Foundation and Cherokee Nation Businesses, aims to expand healthcare training, improve access, and build a stronger workforce.