Left to right: Alex Mendoza-IFF, Cheryl Crow-Wisconsin Native Loan Fund, Joel Smith-Native American Bank, Chrystel Cornelius-Oweesta Corporation, and Jeff Bowman-Bay Bank
Lac Courte Oreilles Community Health Center
Oweesta Corporation provided funding in the amount of $2.5MM to a $20MM source loan, co-led by Native American Bank (NAB) and Bay Bank to the Lac Courte Oreilles Community Health Center to construct a new 64,421 square foot healthcare facility on the Lac Court Oreilles Tribe (LCO) reservation in Hayward, Wisconsin. The total project costs exceed $48MM. This project was financed through a New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) structure. NAB and Bay Bank partnered as co-lenders in this project and have included four additional lenders who collectively are providing the $20MM source loan funding.
Of the six funders, five are Native-led financial institutions. This collaboration provides significant opportunity to raise capital for a Native NMTC project. Bringing in NCDFI revolving loan funds is providing the opportunity for NCDFIs to participate in a NMTC project, and experience how this type of financing vehicle is structured and how NMTCs can be utilized for large scale community development projects in Indian Country. NAB will provide all loan servicing on behalf of all six lenders. The three additional lenders are First American Capital Corporation, a Native Community Development Financial Institution (NCDFI) located in Wisconsin, Wisconsin Native Loan Fund, a NCDFI also located in Wisconsin, and IFF, a CDFI located headquartered in Illinois and serves Wisconsin.
The Lac Courte Oreilles Community Health Center (Clinic) serves its tribal members, unaffiliated Native Americans, and tribal employees and their families in Sawyer County, WI, which is considered a Medically Underserved Area (MUA). The LCO Clinic provides a wide scope of services to its patients. The construction of a new state of the art medical clinic will allow increase in service capacity for patients served along with expanded healthcare services including: Primary Care, Dental Care, Behavioral Health, Eye Care, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Diagnostic Imaging and Comprehensive Community Outreach services. The LCO Clinic has exceeded the operational capacity of its current, older clinic building and elected to develop a new clinic in the more strategically defined area of Hayward, WI serving Sawyer County. The development of a new modern and well designed medical clinic will have a positive impact on the well-being and health of the patients served in Sawyer County. This project had been one of the LCO Tribe’s top priorities in serving its tribal citizens.
Pawnee Nation Behavioral Health Facility
Oweesta will also be providing funding of a $2.4MM loan to a $9.64MM source loan with Citizens Potawatomi CDC and lead lender, Native American Bank (NAB), to finance the Pawnee Nation Behavioral Health Facility’s construction of a new 29,000 square foot behavioral health facility, private, stand-alone 26 bed adult/geriatric inpatient and outpatient treatment facility on the Pawnee Nation reservation in Pawnee, Oklahoma. The total project costs exceed $22MM. This project is also financed through a NMTC structure. Native American Bank is providing the source loan, bringing in Citizens Potawatomi CDC, a Native Certified Financial Institution (NCDFI) located in Shawnee, Oklahoma as a participant in the source loan and Oweesta. Bringing in Native Community Development Financial Institution (NCDFI) revolving loan funds is providing 100% financing of the source loan from Native led CDFIs.
The Pawnee Nation Behavioral Health Facility will be a comprehensive behavioral health treatment facility. The Pawnee Indian Health Center currently provides ancillary behavioral health treatment, however the existing facility is not equipped to meet the growing needs of the tribal community and surrounding areas who face mental health challenges related to major economic events and the opioid and substance abuse crises. This new facility is designed to improve rural public health outcomes, as well as other under-served groups through partnerships, advocacy, education, data & research and policy development. Clinical services will be offered to male and female adult inpatients for behavioral and substance abuse treatment. This will include geriatric specific inpatient services as well. The facility will also offer a range of outpatient services for children, adolescents, adults, and seniors. The outpatient services will include psychiatric diagnoses and substance abuse treatment, including medication-assisted treatment. This facility will serve the Pawnee Nation and community members in Pawnee County which is considered a Medically Underserved Area (MUA).
