Oklahoma State University is expanding its medical center in Tulsa – a move leaders say will have a positive ripple effect for health care in Oklahoma.
The hospital has begun construction on a $175 million addition downtown. The 180,000-square-foot expansion will hold a pharmaceutical research lab and eight new surgical suites.
“At the heart of this expansion is better health care for patients — more beds, more treatments. All this translates to better patient outcomes and a stronger, healthier Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma,” Tulsa Regional Chamber President Mike Neal said at a groundbreaking Thursday.
OSU Medical Center’s Finny Mathew said the new operating room space and technology will help the hospital recruit doctors for their residencies.
This enhanced recruitment, Mathew said, will in turn help rural health care in Oklahoma because he expects some doctors to practice outside metro areas.
“When we think about what these people will do in their communities, the lives they’ll save, and the economic impact we’ll have moving forward, it’s exponential for the state,” he said.
The groundbreaking follows the medical center’s completion of a 1,000-spot parking garage, which cost $30 million to build.
