Hartford HealthCare and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation are partnering to build a one-stop health center on tribal land that will offer a variety of services including primary care and same-day care as well as a pharmacy.
In addition to providing the standard Hartford HealthCare level of care, the 21,000-square-foot center will feature dedicated tribal health services. The space will honor tribal culture and traditions and reflect the values, history and culture of the Mashantucket Pequot people.
“The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Hartford HealthCare definitely have a shared commitment and a shared vision in terms of caring, not just for tribal members but for the communities across the state,” said Dr. Padmanabhan Premkumar, president of the Hartford HealthCare Medical Group.
Premkumar said the tribe approached the hospital about the partnership, and the health center has been a year in the making.
“We have a commitment to health care and resources in the eastern part of the state,” Premkumar said. “We look for opportunities to partner with folks like the tribal nation to deliver the highest quality of care. I think both organizations saw the value in the quality of care that needs to be delivered and how we can enhance care. That’s how the partnership developed. We are here now and building a 21,000-square-foot facility that’s aimed at caring not just for the tribal members but for residents and colleagues on the eastern part of the state.”
This will be one of Hartford HealthCare’s larger multi-specialty locations.
“We have tribal health services on one side and Hartford HealthCare services on the other,” Premkumar said. “We don’t just have primary care, same-day care, specialty care, behavior health and rehab services on site.”
According to Premkumar, the new health center is about giving state residents more access to care outside of hospitals.
“It’s about access to care. It’s about making sure you are able to get an appointment. It’s about the quality of service, connecting you to specialists, managing behavior health and making sure you get your medications. Both organizations saw the synergy there that we want to create in both the short term and in the long term,” Premkumar said.
Michele Scott, a Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Tribal Councilor, said the project started internally before the tribe started looking for a partner.
“We chose Hartford HealthCare as one of our key partners when we were going into this because people don’t just exist in a bubble and our neighbors, our children go to school with non-native students. All of our employees are part of our community, (as are) all of the patrons that are coming here, and they all need to be healthy as well,” Scott said. “It’s important to have a standalone health facility with state-of-the-art technology.”
Scott said the closest health care facility is about 20 minutes away and the facility will offer a pharmacy as well as physical therapy.
“A priority was to make sure that we had Pequot culture and traditions, both of those embedded not only in the services but the esthetics. Including how you open the doors and how you enter the space that includes our language,” Scott said.
“From the services standpoint, there will be this community room that allows for singing and drumming in a soundproof room so it’s not echoing throughout, and that’s not typical in a health facility,” Scott added.
“It will allow smudging. So native people who want to practice smudging in their treatment plan will be allowed to and then non-native residents who grow up with all of our families will be able to learn and experience that as well,” Scott said. “Also the traditional herbs when appropriate will be available and incorporated into their treatment plans and so it’s kind of the best of both worlds. It is taking our expertise and our traditions that have worked, tried and true, respecting our tribal sovereignty and leading this project and then incorporating Hartford HealthCare’s modernized technology and approach to medicine.”
Scott said the facility will also include the Mashantucket Pequot’s basket-weaving designs, fabrics, colors and sounds.
“Our citizens will be able to see themselves reflected in the facility,” Scott said.
Before moving forward with this project, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation held a formal vote with the tribe’s general membership, which that includes individuals that are 18 and over. Scott said the project passed with more than 91% of the vote supporting the new health facility.
The location is expected to be between the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center and the reservation’s public safety building. The groundbreaking will take place during the spring in 2026 and the scheduled opening is the spring of 2027.
“We’ve had a great relationship with Hartford HealthCare even before this project and they have always been respectful of our culture,” Scott said. “This could be the standard of a top-tier health care system partnering with a sovereign nation.”
“We are creating an innovative model of care that honors tribal heritage and delivers world-class services close to home,” said Jeff Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare. “This collaboration will expand access to exceptional, culturally affirming care in southeastern Connecticut and, ultimately, improve health outcomes for communities across our state.
“We are deeply grateful to partner with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation,” Flaks added. “This is an extraordinary privilege and a meaningful opportunity to work together to make health care more accessible, more affordable and more equitable for everyone.”