TAHLEQUAH — Cherokee Elder Care is pleased to announce the addition of several new staff, including Dr. Leticia Newton, the new primary care physician, along with Lori Enlow and Ashley Couch, nurse practitioners, and Jan Griffith, occupational therapist.

“We are excited to have Dr. Newton and the other new staff members working here as part of the Cherokee Elder Care team,” said Ben Stevens, director of Cherokee Elder Care. “Their experience and familiarity with the local community make them even more valuable to our program and our participants.”

A familiar figure within the Cherokee Nation health system, Dr. Newton worked for the Nation many years, including serving at the Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center in Stilwell, the Gadugi Clinic in Tahlequah and at W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah. A native of Montana, Dr. Newton attended medical school at the University of Washington and had residency training as a family practice physician in Saginaw, Mich. She began working at the Cherokee Nation in September 1999.

Prior to coming to Cherokee Elder Care, Enlow served at the Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center and later held a position within the Tahlequah community. Couch served as a nurse at W.W. Hastings Hospital and in the local community. Both are happy to be back working in a capacity for the Cherokee Nation. Griffith attended Texas Women’s University and has had previous experience with two other similar elder care programs, including working for 11 years at a program in Colorado.

Since opening in 2008, Cherokee Elder Care serves more than 50 enrolled participants and is the only program in Oklahoma that is part of the national Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly and the only one in the country sponsored by a Native American tribe. The program is an option for anyone who is at least 55 years of age, be certified as needing some level of nursing home level care by a Department of Human Services nurse and live safely in a home environment within the program’s service area. Participants in the program do not have to be a Cherokee Nation citizen or Native American to enroll.

As an all-inclusive care program, those enrolling in the program must agree for Cherokee Elder Care to be their primary medical provider. As such, the center will provide all prescribed medications, therapy, nutrition counseling, home health services, social activities, transportation, laboratory services, social services, medical equipment, hospitalization, nursing care and adult day health care. Dr. Newton will be their primary care physician, leading a team of health care providers and specialists in the care of each participant.

For information about Cherokee Elder Care, call 453-5554.



Cherokee Nation Health Services

Cherokee Nation Health Services is the first tribal health care system nationwide and the first in Oklahoma to receive the Det Norske Veritas Healthcare Accreditation, a world-wide accreditation that focuses on the quality of patient care throughout an entire health care system.

The tribe’s hospital, eight health centers, emergency medical services and various health programs work as a team for the benefit of the patients. During the past year, the Cherokee Nation Health system saw more than 634,000 patient visits.