Chickasaws start work on new Ardmore clinic

ARDMORE, Okla. (AP) – Work has begun on a new Chickasaw Nation health clinic in Ardmore.

Chickasaw Gov. Bill Anoatubby and other tribal leaders gathered Feb. 17 for a groundbreaking ceremony for the planned 66,000-square-foot clinic. Tribal officials say the new clinic will be more than six times larger than the tribe's original clinic, which opened in 1988 and had more than 40,000 patient visits last year.

The two-story clinic will include more space for existing services, an increase in behavioral health services and drive-through pharmacy services.

Construction is expected to be finished by the summer of 2012. The clinic's staff will increase from 25 to about 100 people.