The Talihina Indian Hospital (Part II)

This month’s Iti Fabvssa article continues from last month to explore the development of the Indian healthcare system in the Choctaw Nation following the creation of the Carter Hospital in Talihina, a sanitorium dedicated to the treatment of tuberculosis for Choctaws and Chickasaws. The Carter Hospital opened in 1916 and continued to operate for the next two decades. In 1934, following the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act that marked a significant turning point in federal-Indian relations, the Choctaw Advisory Council was formally established to support the Choctaw people and involve community members in important Tribal issues decision-making (Iti Fabvssa, April 2022). With approval from the Choctaw Advisory Council, work began on a new Choctaw-Chickasaw Hospital using Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds in 1937. The WPA, one of many federal relief programs established to lift the country out of the Great Depression, sought to put unemployed Americans back to work while also improving the country’s infrastructure. Construction of the new hospital, coupled with the enlargement of the State’s facility, the Eastern Oklahoma State Sanatorium, located less than a mile to the east, triggered a housing crisis in the town of Talihina as construction workers and families of patients seeking treatment relocated to the area (Oklahoma City Times, September 29, 1937: 38). The Talihina Indian Hospital was one of four new hospitals being opened and operated by the Indian Service (later formally named the Bureau of Indian Affairs) in the United States. Designed by noted Chicago architectural firm Schmidt, Garden, and Erickson, the hospital was the largest WPA construction project undertaken by the Indian Service at the time.

The facilities, built to accommodate 150 tuberculosis beds and 75 general beds (225 beds in total), consisted of not just one building but a cluster of related buildings, including a main hospital, infirmary, ambulatory wards, and a powerhouse. The overall dimensions of the main hospital building were approximately 275 feet by 350 feet. Sloped surfaces of the roof were covered with terra cotta clay Spanish tiles, while exterior walls featured a combination of native fieldstone and red brick panels. The hospital was constructed with full electrical, sanitary, and water services. The new facilities also included a recreation hall, dining room building, and a garage. Secondary buildings built on the campus during the WPA era included quarters for doctors and nurses. Overall, the Talihina Indian Hospital represented a significant step forward in terms of Indian healthcare services and a marked improvement over the Carter Hospital. The new Choctaw-Chickasaw Hospital opened in June 1938, a month earlier than anticipated. A formal dedication ceremony was held on October 4, 1938 (Godfrey 2017). In 1939, the road from Talihina to the hospital was improved with blacktop (Oklahoma City Times, June 10, 1939: 11).

During the early to mid-1940s, the Talihina Indian Hospital ranked alongside the nation’s best hospitals and was listed by the American College of Surgeons as an approved facility (Oklahoma City Times, January 28, 1946: 6, and Cushing Daily Citizen, January 30, 1946: 2). In 1944, there were 51 buildings on the campus. Facilities included a bus stop and concrete tennis courts. Hourly bus services from Talihina to the Indian Hospital and the State’s sanatorium were provided until 1949, when they were suddenly suspended (Oklahoma City Times, May 3, 1949: 6).

Streptomycin, the first antibiotic to treat tuberculosis, was also developed during this time and began to be administered to critically ill patients, including infants, typically with remarkable lifesaving results. Common side effects of Steptomycin included vertigo, vomiting, numbness of the face, fever, and rash; however, use of the drug occasionally resulted in more serious side effects. Though initially effective at treating tuberculosis, Streptomycin frequently lost its power after being administered over extended periods and many patients experienced relapse. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, new and improved antibiotics for tuberculosis treatment, such as Neomycin and Viomycin, were introduced. Using combination drug therapies, doctors were able to keep most tuberculosis cases in remission (see Drumright Derrick, July 8, 1958: 3, and Sapulpa Herald, November 25, 1946: 4). The average length of stay for tuberculosis patients in Talihina fell to less than six months (Tulsa Tribune, July 21, 1956: 6).

During the mid-twentieth century, national policy promulgated by Congress shifted to a period known as termination following a series of laws aimed at dismantling tribal sovereignty (Godfrey 2017, also see Lowitt 2007). Posited as an honor conferred on the institution due to its efficiency and growth, in 1950, the Indian Service officially changed the name of the Talihina Indian Hospital to the Talihina Medical Center. At the time, it was the only Indian medical center in Oklahoma and only one of two in the United States. (Oklahoma City Times, November 10, 1950: 8). Several major cuts to the hospital’s budget subsequently followed. Although some of these cuts were vigorously opposed and changed (Boswell News, September 6, 1957: 1), the hospital remained underfunded and understaffed. In 1956, the hospital was transferred from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Public Health Service. A clinic with regular hours was established at the hospital, and the number of treated patients tripled within a year (Oklahoma City Times, April 13, 1956: 2). In 1958, the hospital welcomed Dr. Raymond D. Higgins, which filled a long-standing opening for a qualified Chief Surgeon (Boswell News, March 7, 1958: 1).

By 1959, only a fourth of the Talihina Indian Hospital’s beds were being used to treat tuberculosis patients (Miami Daily News-Record, August 11, 1959: 3). In 1961, the Indian tuberculosis hospital in Shawnee was closed and converted to an out-patient clinic (Oklahoma City Times, November 28, 1961: 3). Future Indian tuberculosis patients were to be sent to Talihina. Following a further decline in the number of Tuberculosis cases, all remaining Indian tuberculosis patients were moved to state facilities for treatment in 1963.

In May 1967, health clinics were established in Tishomingo and Coalgate, decreasing the distance Chickasaw tribal members had to travel for healthcare. Lack of funding, however, continued to plague the U.S. Health Department exacerbating problems in Indian health and healthcare. In 1971, Chief Harry “Jimmy” W. Belvin urged the government for additional funds to establish two new dental clinics. According to Belvin, dental services at the Talihina Indian Hospital were inadequate, with only one dental officer and one dental assistant to care for 6,435 Indian people. Belvin also noted a disparity in healthcare as Indians who had moved to urban areas for better employment opportunities were essentially forced to forfeit their benefits (Oklahoma City Times, March 18, 1971: 10).

Under a new policy of self-determination, the Indian Self-Determination Act (1975) offered tribes the option to manage their own healthcare programs, and the Indian Health Care Improvements Act (amended in 1980) stated that the federal goal of Indian healthcare is to raise the health conditions among Indians to the same level as that of the general public (Godfrey 2017). In 1999, Choctaw Nation became the first tribe to build its own hospital with the construction of the new Choctaw Nation Health Care Center in Talihina (approximately two miles south of the old hospital). Today, the former Talihina Indian Hospital building is vacant, but other existing buildings on the campus remain in use. The Choctaw Nation Health System additionally includes several health facilities and wellness centers located throughout Southeastern Oklahoma.

Bibliography

• Boswell News [Boswell, Oklahoma]. 1957. “Hospital Cut is Changed,” September 6: 1.
• Boswell News [Boswell, Oklahoma]. 1958. “Talihina Hospital Gets Surgeon,” March 7: 1.
• Cushing Daily Citizens [Cushing, Oklahoma]. 1946. “Hospital List Approved by National Group,”
  January 30: 2.
• Drumright Derrick [Drumright, Oklahoma]. 1958. “Spotlight on Health, Drug Research has TB on the Run,” July 8: 3.
• Godfrey, Anthony. (2017). Historic American Buildings Survey, Talihina Indian Hospital. U.S. West Research, Inc. Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Iti Fabvssa. (2022). “A New Chahta Homeland: A History by the Decade, 1930-1940,” Biskinik. Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Published on April 1, 2022. Last Accessed online on
  October 4, 2024.
• Lowitt, Richard. (2007). “From Termination to Self Determination: Indian Health in Oklahoma, 1954-1980, Part 1,” Chronicles of Oklahoma. Winter: 436-467.
  Miami Daily News-Record [Miami, Oklahoma]. 1959. “State Registers TB Fight Gains,” August 11: 3.
• Oklahoma City Times [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]. 1937. “Hospital and Homes Built,” September 29: 38.
• Oklahoma City Times [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]. 1939. “Work Starts on Road Project at Talihina Hospital for Indians,” June 10: 11.
• Oklahoma City Times [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]. 1946. “Doctors Group App[r]oves State, City Hospital,” January 28: 6.
• Oklahoma City Times [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]. 1949. “Bus Service Stopped,” May 3: 6.
• Oklahoma City Times [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]. 1950. “Indian Service Alters Talihina Hospital Name,” November 10: 8.
• Oklahoma City Times [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]. 1956. “Talihina Hospital Cases Triple in Year,” April 13: 2.
• Oklahoma City Times [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]. 1961. “Hospital Converted,” Edition 2, November 28: 3.
• Oklahoma City Times [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]. 1971. “Urban Indians Forfeit Benefits, Chief Says,”
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• Sapulpa Herald [Sapulpa, Oklahoma]. 1946. “Youth’s Life is Saved by new War-Born Drug,” November
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• Tulsa Tribune [Tulsa, Oklahoma]. 1956. “Talihina TB hospital Homey Place,” July 21: 6.