Case Study: The New Chickasaw Nation Medical Center in Ada, OK—Designing for a “Nation within a Nation”
With a health care system serving 40,000 Native Americans annually, the Chickasaw Nation, headquartered in the central Oklahoma town of Ada, sees medicine differently than the rest of the United States. The semi-autonomous tribal group has for decades committed itself to universal, patient-centered care, that culminated with the dedication of a $145 million facility that embodies both traditional Chickasaw values and humane hospital design. The Chickasaw Nation Medical Center is the first state-of-the-art medical center fully owned and operated by Native American leadership. The 358,000 SF, 72-bed medical center is located on 230 acres of tribal lands. Tribal leadership of the Chickasaw Nation directed the design of the hospital to include strong influences of the community’s culture and history into all aspects of this project. For the Chickasaw people caring for the ill is a community function and responsibility. Native American culture emphasizes respect for nature and the medical center incorporates the beauty of the site as well as deference to its ecology as fully as possible into the design.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the unique challenges in developing the first Native American Medical Center.
- The design approach and challenges for this unique healthcare facility.
- Address the cultural goals of the Chickasaw Tribal Art Program.
Goforth Parker, PhD, RN
Health System Administrator
Chickasaw Nation Health System
Dr. Judy Goforth Parker, is the administrator of the Chickasaw Nation Division of Health. She has a PhD in nursing from Texas Women’s University, and has completed her Nurse Practitioner degree at OUHSC. She was a professor in the department of nursing at East Central University in Ada for almost twenty-five years. Judy served as an elected tribal legislator for four terms until 2009, and stepped down from this role to assume the administrator’s duties.
Louise Nicholson Carter, AAHID, IIDA, EDAC
Principal
Skyline Art Services
Louise Nicholson Carter is a nationally recognized healthcare interior and visual art designer, specializing in healthcare and corporate environments. Her previous positions include the Director of Interiors with Watkins Carter Hamilton Architects and Founding Principal of Carter Design Associates. Currently, as founding Principal of Skyline Art Services, her career focuses on the therapeutic impact of artwork in the healthcare environment.
Talmadge Smith, RA, LEED AP
Senior Associate
PageSoutherlandPage
Talmadge has been with PageSoutherlandPage for over 5 years and has more than 10 years of industry experience. He has worked on a wide variety of projects on four continents. Talmadge’s diversity of experience and background enable him to excel at collaboration and solve problems creatively. His involvement with projects usually begins hand-in-hand with the client and ends with the contractor in the field. As a follow up to his work on the Chickasaw Nation Medical center, he is currently designing a 200,000 sf surgical center in Central Texas.
