Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority

Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority (CIHA) is a tribally owned hospital and healthcare provider serving the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Whittier, North Carolina. Operating since its registration with the federal government on May 31, 2017, CIHA delivers comprehensive healthcare services to approximately 12,190 enrolled tribal members while maintaining a strong presence as a federal contractor and grant recipient. The organization specializes in delivering culturally appropriate, evidence-based healthcare services addressing the unique needs of Native American communities, including substance use disorder treatment, behavioral health services, and trauma-informed care for victims of violence.

Through federal contract awards, CIHA has provided meal services to the Indian Health Service (IHS) under Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) mechanisms serving the Unity Healing Center in Cherokee, North Carolina. These contracts, awarded by the IHS, have included a $5,000 BPA call for meal services with an ultimate completion date of September 30, 2025, awarded on September 20, 2024, and a $14,040 Indian Economic Enterprise set-aside BPA call for resident meal services covering the option year period from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, awarded on July 18, 2025. Both contracts represent continuations of CIHA's established relationship with IHS and are designated as Indian Economic Enterprise set-asides, reflecting the organization's status as an Indian-owned business and supporting federal procurement priorities for tribal economic development. These meal service contracts support IHS healthcare operations under firm fixed price terms and demonstrate CIHA's capability to deliver essential operational support services to federal healthcare facilities.

CIHA has received substantial federal grant funding focused on substance use disorder treatment and violence prevention initiatives. The organization has been awarded multiple project grants from the SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment totaling significant resources for its Analenisgi Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program, with one grant awarded on September 30, 2024, with an ultimate completion date of September 29, 2029, and a predecessor grant awarded on September 30, 2022, with completion on September 29, 2024. These grants support expanded access to medication-assisted treatment services utilizing evidence-based practices including buprenorphine or methadone combined with individual and group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and EMDR, with goals to serve an additional 200-1,235 enrolled members during grant periods. Additionally, CIHA received a five-year, $209,882.64 project grant from the Office of the Director awarded on April 1, 2022, for the SART Team Establishment initiative, designed to train Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) members including SANE nurses, hospital staff, first responders, and community members in forensic skills for addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, child maltreatment, strangulation, and human trafficking. CIHA also received a project grant from the Administration for Native Americans on September 30, 2021, titled "Lighting the Way for Systemic Innovations" focused on grants, contracts, and inventory management, with completion by September 29, 2025. As a sub-grantee, CIHA received awards from the State of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on October 15, 2024, and April 22, 2024, for culturally focused treatment and continued evidence-based medication-assisted treatment services for opioid use disorder and stimulant use disorder.

CIHA maintains two active Blanket Purchase Agreements as prime contractor IDVs with the Indian Health Service. The primary BPA, awarded on September 20, 2024, has a ceiling value of $75,000 with an ultimate completion date of September 30, 2029, and serves as a single-award contract with no set-aside designation, providing meal services at the Unity Healing Center through multiple option years. This BPA framework enabled the execution of the $5,000 task order awarded on the same date for meal services through September 30, 2025, and the subsequent $14,040 task order for option year one extending through September 30, 2026. A predecessor BPA, awarded on May 25, 2022, with a ceiling value of $100,000 and completion date of September 30, 2023, was similarly a single-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for patient and staff care services at the Unity Healing Center, executed under an existing Memorandum of Agreement between IHS and CIHA. These IDVs demonstrate IHS's confidence in CIHA's ability to deliver sustained operational and healthcare support services to federal medical facilities serving Native American communities.