By Leila Merrill
STILWELL, Okla. — Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. signed into law legislation that invests $54 million in Cherokee Nation EMS, the Tahlequah Daily Press reported.
The law is intended to help reduce response times, increase staffing, improve training for community partners.
It also lets the tribe provide ambulance service assistance outside of the tribe in Adair County.
The new law also includes a new ambulance facility and expansion of the tribe’s ambulance fleet.
“In a health care emergency, we know that the difference between life and death can literally be a matter of seconds or minutes. Cherokee families deserve to be served by emergency medical services that can provide the life-saving response necessary in those urgent scenarios,” Hoskin said.