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- By Brian Edwards
- Health Care
The Osage Nation has begun construction on a new 50,000-square-foot health clinic in Skiatook, Okla., expanding healthcare capacity and continuing a broader tribal investment in healthcare infrastructure across northeastern Oklahoma.
Tribal leaders and the Osage Nation Health System broke ground May 19 on the two-story facility, which is expected to open in late 2027 and provide primary care, dental services, behavioral health, imaging, pharmacy services and specialty care for Native American patients across the region.
Separately, the Osage Nation’s Health Board Authority, Si-Si A-Pe-Txa, announced it completed a consolidated financing agreement with BOK Financial that combines debt associated with both the new Skiatook clinic and the Wahzhazhe Health Center in Pawhuska. Tribal officials said the restructuring eliminated a previous Osage Nation government loan guarantee tied to the Pawhuska facility and transferred repayment responsibility to the health authority board.
The financing structure relies in part on Indian Health Service 105(l) lease revenues and third-party healthcare revenues generated by the health system. Tribal officials described the arrangement as part of a broader healthcare sovereignty strategy.
The project marks the latest expansion of the Osage Nation Health System as tribes increasingly invest in healthcare facilities amid broader contractions in rural healthcare access nationwide.
“This is at a time when the traditional for-profit healthcare systems are contracting in the state and nationwide,” Si-Si A-Pe-Txa Vice Chair Michael Bristow said during the groundbreaking ceremony, according to Osage News. “And who’s going to step up and fill that void? The tribes.”
Osage Nation Health System CEO Mark Rogers told FOX23 the project has been planned for years as tribal leaders anticipated continued population growth in Skiatook and increased healthcare demand in the region. Rogers also said the clinic is intended to reduce transportation barriers and improve access to preventative healthcare services for tribal members.
The clinic will include a dental program twice the size of the existing Pawhuska facility, along with shell space for future expansion. Tribal officials said the design is intended to create continuity with the new Wahzhazhe Health Center in Pawhuska while accommodating long-term growth.
The development was initially supported by a $3.5 million Small Ambulatory Grant from Indian Health Service, according to Si-Si A-Pe-Txa Chairwoman Cindra Shangreau. Project development is being led by FSA Advisory Group, while construction is being handled by Nabholz.
The Skiatook clinic is expected to add an estimated 85 jobs, according to the health authority board. An assisted living facility planned in Hominy is projected to add another 15 positions, bringing the Osage Nation Health System workforce to roughly 360 employees once projects are completed and staffed.
The facility is being built across from the Skiatook Osage Casino and is expected to create additional healthcare and administrative jobs for tribal citizens and local residents.
