Hosts Brad Clonch and Quin Tran bring us another episode of CNTV News, disseminating the latest in what's going on in the Chickasaw Nation. First, Quin reports on the status of COVID-19 from the Chickasaw Nation's health officials. According to them, the mitigation efforts that have been taking place at the bequest of the CDC are working, both on an individual and nationwide scale. Efforts aimed at individuals include social distancing and wearing masks. Larger-scale efforts include testing and contact tracing, which are two of our key tools in fighting the novel coronavirus. Quin interviews Chickasaw Nation Health Undersecretary Dr. John Krueger to discuss why contact tracing and testing are so important. According to Dr. Krueger, over 16,000 tests have been conducted at Chickasaw Nation testing sites. He says that the more people who are tested, and their contacts notified, the lower we can keep case numbers. To learn more about contact tracing, watch the July 1 episode of CNTV News.

Next, Quin speaks to Director of Pharmacy Services Travis Freeze, Pharm.D., MBA, NCPS, regarding the Chickasaw Nation's new automated pharmacy on the Chickasaw Nation Medical Center Campus. This state-of-the-art facility is fully automated, meaning prescriptions are filled via specialized robotic limbs. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, a fully automated prescription process is crucial to the health and wellbeing of Chickasaw citizens. Travis estimates that over 100,000 prescriptions are processed monthly at this facility. Individuals wanting their prescriptions filled have the choice of using the walk-up or drive-thru options or having those prescriptions mailed to their homes. Have a question about the facility? You can call (580) 421-4569 every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pharmacists are available for telemedicine consultations as well.

Then Quin talks to Chickasaw Nation Secretary of Health Dr. Charles Grim regarding Oklahoma State Question 802. SQ 802 is regarding the expansion of Medicaid coverage for low-income Oklahomans. Dr. Grim explains why expanding Medicaid is important for a strong economy, which includes saving rural hospitals. Oklahomans go to the polls on June 30 to vote on whether this citizen petition should become law.

A coalition of U.S. federal programs, the Oklahoma Regional Food Bank and the Chickasaw Nation connected farmers those in need earlier this month. This food drive distributed food boxes to over 600 families in Purcell, Oklahoma. Connecting farmers to families ensures that no food is wasted and helps families put food on the table.

Across the nation, Chickasaw citizens are graduating with high school diplomas or college degrees. Many of these graduation ceremonies are done virtually, as in the case of Columbia Law graduate Mary Hulbutta and University of Oklahoma graduate Addison Kliewer. Both of these Chickasaw young women have bright futures ahead of them, like all the Chickasaw citizens who graduated this year. Both Brad and Quin offer their congratulations to the new graduates.

And finally, the episode closes out with a tale from "Chikasha Stories Volume Two: Shared Voices," which features a story about the wind.