Cheyenne River reservation celebrates new hospital

EAGLE BUTTE, S.D. (AP) – Residents of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation celebrated the dedication of a new hospital on Friday.

KELO television reports that more than $80 million of stimulus money went into the project.

The building holds tribal and federal health services and is more than three times the size of the old one. The Indian Health Service had tagged the old facility as vastly undersized and understaffed.

State Tribal Relations Secretary LeRoy LaPlante Jr. says the opening is a promise that the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's best days are ahead.

Indian Health Service director Yvette Roubideaux and Sen. Tim Johnson attended the ceremony.

Johnson says it's a proud day, but there's much more work to do.