I’m doing research on the Nuka system of care for my upcoming trip to North Carolina. I found an article about the new Cherokee Indian Hospital that we will be visiting during our trip.  In the article one of the board of directors at the Cherokee Indian Hospital referred to the type of care being provided as ‘integrated health care’ it combines medical staff in teams including a doctor, nurse, dietitian, psychologist, and pharmacist (Kays, 2015).  This allows the patient to get all of their needs met at once and all the medical staff collaborate together to care for the patient. There are 6 teams that are responsible for 1,100 to 1,200 patients (Kays, 2015). This allows the patient to have a smoother experience and they do not have to travel to different specialists to get their care.

The healthcare model was developed from the Southcentral Foundation a nonprofit healthcare organization that serves the Alaska Native and American Indian people in Alaska. The Nuka system of care was named after an Alaska Native word used for strong, giant structures and living things (Southcentral Foundation, 2016). The relationship-based system goal is to make medicine, tradition, infrastructure and organization work together for the best health outcomes. 

In this philosophy of care the physical environment is also a component. The Cherokee Indian Hospital is design as a long building that allows for easy access by the patients instead of the traditional big box style hospital. It is also laid out in a way to maximize the number of windows in patient rooms. The hospital stated that is was more expensive to design the hospital like this but their belief is that beauty and sense of place are important components of wellness (Kays, 2015). Another interesting point in the newspaper article was in relation to the Cherokee artwork displayed throughout the hospital; they stated a way to tell how a culture is doing is based on the artwork (Kays, 2015). This demonstrates the importance of culture and its affect on overall health.

            Also in the health care model it is important that the health care providers are educated in the Cherokee culture. They believe understanding ones culture is the biggest aspect of healing.  In contrast to the Nuka system of care, Western medicine divides patient problems up into domains of physicians, psychologists, and pastors but the Cherokee way of healing sees the whole person to find the problem (Kays, 2015). 

            After completing this research I am getting more excited to be a part of this experience. I cannot wait to see and learn about this type of healthcare, it is completely different than the care someone gets in the hospital in our area. A system such as this may not be cost effective initially but in the long run it would potentially provide better patient outcomes making healthcare less costly over time.

Reference

Kays, H. (2015, October 28). A new model of health care: Cherokee celebrates new hospital. Smoky Mountain News. Retrieved from: http://www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/16616-a-new-model-of-health-care-cherokee-celebrates-new-hospital

Southcentral Foundation. (2016). Southcentral Foundation history. Retrieved from: https://www.southcentralfoundation.com/about-us/history/