Historic Native hospital restored to honor nation’s first Native doctor

The Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte Hospital in Walthill, Nebraska — the first hospital built on a Native reservation — is being restored as the Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte Center. According to the Flatwater Free Press, an all-volunteer effort raised more than $6 million for the project. The center honors Picotte, the first Native American to earn a medical degree in the United States. She opened the hospital in 1913 after treating more than 1,200 patients across the Omaha reservation.

A private dedication event is scheduled for June 21, with a public open house on the following day. Once operational, the center will provide health services including urgent care, behavioral health care and disability services. There will also be cultural spaces on site for art and entrepreneurship.