- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Higher Education
The Cherokee Nation is expanding clinical training opportunities across its health system through a new agreement with Rogers State University, building on a $4 million tribal investment in the university and a separate nursing scholarship commitment.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed Aug. 18, Rogers State nursing, behavioral health and allied health students and faculty will be able to complete clinical training at W.W. Hastings Hospital and Cherokee Nation health centers across northeastern Oklahoma.
Cherokee Nation will provide clinical placements, orientation and supervision support, while the university will oversee student selection, curriculum and faculty.
The two institutions will also establish a workforce group focused on nursing and behavioral health, including education pathways, scholarships and other programs aimed at developing workers for the region’s health care sector.
The agreement extends an existing workforce partnership. In 2024, Cherokee Nation committed up to $4 million toward construction of Rogers State’s Center for Science and Technology. The RSU Foundation also made a 10-year commitment to cover tuition and mandatory fees for up to 10 Cherokee citizens annually in the university’s nursing program, after tribal scholarships and federal or state grants are applied. “By opening our doors to Rogers State University’s nursing and allied health students, we are investing in the next generation of providers who will serve our patients and communities for years to come,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement.
The agreement runs through May 31, 2027, and automatically renews annually. No money will change hands under the new agreement.
