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New Hastings Hospital opened July 11; health COO reports 35% surge in early emergency visits
Summary
Cherokee Nation Health Services reported the Hastings Hospital opened July 11 and saw a significant early surge in patients, including many births. COO Dr. Brian Hill said the ED saw about a 35% increase in volume in the opening days and described triage and staffing responses.
Dr. Brian Hill, chief operating officer of Cherokee Nation Health Services, told the health committee that the new Hastings Hospital, which opened July 11, produced an immediate jump in patient volume. "When we first opened the new facility, we had about a 35% increase in volume for those first several days," Hill said, describing an early influx that also included "a lot of babies being born at the hospital."
Hill said staff are using a standard Emergency Severity Index, a five-level triage tool, to prioritize patients by clinical need rather than arrival time. "People are seen based on the severity of their injury or illness and not necessarily the time that they arrive into the facility or the order in which they arrive," he said. Hill added that the health service has consultants working to improve operational workflow in the emergency department and has additional emergency physicians in the pipeline to help manage volume.
Committee members thanked health staff for outreach and cited recent community events where health teams provided screenings and vaccinations. The committee did not take formal action on operational changes at the meeting; Hill offered to meet briefly with one councilor after the session to follow up on district-specific concerns.
