All resources will be moved in phases to the new facility before full operations begin. “Our entire operation will begin seeing patients on Nov. 16 after a phased move of equipment and resources. This move will not impact patients directly, and we expect no disruption of services from Friday to Monday morning,” said Casey Cooper, chief executive officer of the Cherokee Indian Hospital, in a statement.

The project began almost two years ago and used an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) agreement. Through the IPD approach, the Cherokee hospital was able to realize $7 million worth of added value and gain an additional two months from the original schedule, according to Tim McCurley, director of project management for CBRE Healthcare. This approach also allowed the project team to beat the local participation goals that were set by the hospital. Greenville, S.C.-based Design Strategies served as the architect on the project, while Raleigh-Durham, N.C.-based Robins and Morton served as construction manager.

The Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority, which formed in 2002, has worked to receive funding for the project and improve services for the care of tribal members. “We believe that we can serve our community better than anyone else and we are committed to that goal,” said Cooper in a statement. “We believe that the new building will help us foster an environment of wellness so our patients don’t just come to us when they are sick, they come to us as friends and partners in wellness.”

Patient care has become a large focus for the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority. Linda Sadler, principal and senior technology consultant with Nashville, Tenn.-based Smith Seckman Reid, Inc., engineering design and facility consultant firm, said that the technology systems were specifically selected and implemented to support the Cherokee’s commitment to patient care.

Daily project implementation meetings were held after the IPD process advocated for the meetings. The meetings included the architect, engineer, contractor, subcontractor and a representative from CBRE Healthcare. The daily gatherings allowed for integrated design and management which made reaching the budget and schedule milestones possible, according to a press statement from CBRE Healthcare. The health care network believes that meeting these milestones is a testament to the efficiency that the IPD approach offers.
 

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During a speech at the groundbreaking ceremony, Principal Chief Michell Hicks said that the project provided, “a unique opportunity to create a facility which will serve as a health care and community anchor for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.” Hicks added that the project, “recognizes the need to address the health care challenges of our tribe, and to create a positive wellness environment.”

Also attending the groundbreaking were the nation’s Vice Chief Larry Blythe, Carmaleta Monteith, governing board chair, Terri Henry, chairman of tribal council, David Wolfe, chairman of the tribal health board, and Casey Cooper, CEO of the hospital. In his address, Cooper commented that the investment in health care is an example of the tribe’s long-held values.
“We stand here today because we are dedicated to the health care of this tribe for the next seven generations,” Cooper said. “This morning’s ceremony is yet another illustration of our tribal leadership’s commitment to the future of our tribe.”
CIH will focus on areas such as disease control, primary care, and other services already in high demand. Included in the campus will be inpatient and outpatient services, a laboratory, pharmacy, emergency room and a physical therapy area. Dental and vision clinics will also be located on site, though mores specialized surgical services and deliveries will be available at other nearby facilities.

The new complex will double the size and capacity of the existing tribal hospital, which was completed in the early 1980s, and will allow the Eastern Band to offer additional medical services in-house. The project will also bring departments that are currently forced to work out of onsite trailers back into the main facility, which will feature warm, comfortable and inviting interiors, as well as décor made by local artists.

Design Strategies of Greenville, S.C., completed the design for the new Cherokee Indian Hospital. A series of community meetings were held to gather input on the overall plan.

“The local community including tribal elders, artists, students and enrolled members, as well as physicians and medical professionals, have all played a big role in shaping this new facility,” Hicks said in a statement

The groundbreaking was long awaited, as the project has already spent three years in the planning stage. Construction and engineering firm Robins & Morton of Birmingham, Ala., will lead construction using an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach.

The $75 million facility will be both owned and operated by the Cherokee tribe, which assumed control of community health care in 2002.

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