US EditionFirst Native hospital, built by nation’s first Native doctor, to again care for Nebraskans
- Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte, America's first Native American doctor, built the first hospital on the Omaha reservation in Walthill in 1913 to serve a vast 1,300-square-mile area.
- Her experience watching a white doctor refuse to treat a Native woman shaped her path to medicine amid Victorian-era barriers that rendered Native women invisible.
- La Flesche graduated top of her class from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1889, then returned home to care for 1,244 patients scattered over the reservation.
- The hospital remained in operation until 1944 before transitioning into a facility for elder care, and following a fundraising effort that gathered over $6 million, it has been restored to once again offer medical services under a new community health center named in honor of its founder.
- The center aims to improve critical health access in Nebraska's poorest county, where residents currently must travel far for specialized care, reflecting La Flesche's lasting legacy.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Syracuse NY
First Native hospital, built by nation’s first Native doctor, to again care for Nebraskans
The building is dedicated to sharing the story of Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte, who became the first Native American to earn a medical degree in 1889 and then returned to the Omaha reservation to treat patients and raise money to build the hospital.
Hospital founded by nation's first Native doctor being rebuilt
An all-volunteer group raised $6 million to restore the famed hospital, built by Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte in Walthill after the country’s first Native doctor cared for the residents of the sprawling Omaha reservation for years
Honoring Doc Susan: First Native hospital, built by nation's first Native doctor, to again care for Nebraskans - Flatwater Free Press
The ask was simple. Will you donate $132 to honor your fellow physician, Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte? The Nebraska Medical Association put the word out to its members in 2021. Who’s that? Nebraska doctors asked. After they learned her story, $600,000 in donations poured in. In 1889 — 132 years before the ask — La Flesche made American history when she became the first Native American to earn a medical degree. Born in a tipi in 1865 on the Om…
Cole seeks to protect Indian Health Service from budget cuts
The Cherokee Nation Outpatient Center in Tahlequah in 2024, which it operates with the Indian Health Service. Photo courtesy The Cherokee Nation.By Kylie Caldwell, Gaylord NewsWASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R, Moore), an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, has spent 22 years in Congress fighting to protect tribal funding and says he won’t allow cuts to the Indian Health Service budget, even as the Trump administration moves to slash feder…
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