TAHLEQUAH — Cherokee Elder Care will be hosting an open house from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Friday, at the facility, located at 1387 W. Fourth Street. The event is free and available to anyone who has a family member or loved one who would fit the center’s criteria.
“In August, we celebrated our first year of service,” said Ben Stevens, director of Cherokee Elder Care. “It has been an exciting journey, and our success has certainly been a team effort,”
Since opening last year, Cherokee Elder Care serves more than 40 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 who is certified as needing some level of nursing home level care by a Department of Human Services nurse and can live safely in a home environment within the program’s service area. The service area includes zip codes 74347, 74352, 74364, 74368, 74423, 74403, 74464, 74471, 74452, 74427, 74451, 74434 and 74441. 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. Douglas Young, one of the only geriatric physicians in the Tahlequah area, will become the participant’s primary care physician. Dr. Young leads a team of health care providers and specialists. Information: 453-5554.
