The new Wahzhazhe Health Center is in its last two months of construction and is tentatively due for completion by the end of May, according to Osage Nation Health System CEO Mark Rogers, who added there are “no foreseen issues.”
The Oklahoma State Fire Marshall’s office has been in constant coordination with Nabholz Corporation, the builder, and Connect Advisors, which is a consultant on the project, said Rogers. Once the keys and certificate of occupancy are completed, employees will move in beginning in July.
Health System employees are getting familiar with the new WZZHC building via tours and walk-throughs, but have not moved into the new building and will not until the contractor releases the facility to the Si-Si A-Pe-Txa Board, said Rogers. The keys are scheduled for handover at the end of May.
Patients can expect to have their first appointments at the new clinic by mid-July 2025. “Due to the month of June being a transition month, several large-scale ‘muscle movements’ are going to occur,” Rogers said. These movements include pharmacy transition, the installation of a CT scan machine and laboratory equipment.
“Other equipment … must be moved by vendors due to calibration and warranty requirements preventing just ‘picking stuff up’ and moving it,” said Rogers. “The entire system will have to be brought online from an IT and IoT operational perspective, it is not just turning on a switch.”
IoT, or the Internet of Things, refers to “a network of physical devices … embedded with sensors, software, and network connectivity, allowing them to connect and share data,” according to IBM. In the case of the new WZZHC, the IoT means “software, software security protocols, interconnectivity of hardware [and] software applications … will have to be trouble-shot and the bugs worked out along the way,” Rogers explained.
WZZHC mobile medical units will provide health care services during the transition phase, but the existing clinic located at 715 Grandview Ave. does not yet have a set closing date.
“It is anticipated that [closing day] will be on [or] about mid-July,” Rogers said. “Notifications and schedules will be publicized as we phase out and phase into the new clinic.”
During the transition from the current WZZHC to the new clinic, existing patients can expect “minimal disruption in services,” said Rogers. That is because ONHS is meticulously planning the transition, said Rogers.
WZZHC to open in three spirals
The new WZZHC will first take Osage and Native American patients starting in mid-July, although no specific date has been announced yet.
Next, pending the approval of legislation by the Osage Nation Congress, non-Native employees of the ON government and their families will be able to receive care. “That will be any time after the legislation is approved, 45 to 60 days,” said Rogers, who added the ONHS is currently submitting legislation to Congress.
They are submitting the legislation to the ON Congress because the Indian Health Service (IHS) had that preference, according to Rogers.
In preparing for the second spiral, Rogers said the ONHS is making sure they have the setup for accepting co-pays, which Osage and Native American patients do not pay.
The third spiral, of non-Native patients belonging to the general public, will roll out by fall 2025. Rogers could not provide a specific date for the third spiral, adding the clinic is setting up a new electronic health records (EHR) system, called Epic EHR, which is a massive transition process.
Epic EHR is a widely-adopted “next generation” records system that contributes to improving quality of care, building health system efficiency, and conducting population-level studies, according to research by Jawad Chishtie and others.
In addition to attracting patients with the new state-of-the-art facility, the WZZHC will offer non-life-threatening same-day acute care.
Amidst the upcoming transitions, the ONHS will still provide onsite medical support for the Inlonshka dances as they have in years past, Rogers confirmed. In doing so, they will coordinate with Osage Nation Emergency Management and ON Police Department (ONPD).
Osage and other Native Americans can sign up as new patients at the WZZHC by calling (918) 287-9300, request an appointment online, or visit the clinic at 715 Grandview Avenue in Pawhuska, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Submit questions to the Osage Nation Health System online at: https://osagehealth.org/contact/.
Mobile medical units are also open Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Skiatook on Tuesdays, Fairfax on Wednesdays and in Hominy on Thursdays. Learn more at https://osagehealth.org/mobile-medical-unit/
