Saint Francis Hospital formally opened its new 150-bed patient tower and trauma center with a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, celebrating the greatest expansion in the hospital’s history.
“It’s our hope that this new building will bring about meaningful advances in the health care in Tulsa,” said John-Kelly Warren, chairman of the Saint Francis Health System board of directors.
Standing in the lobby of the new $206 million tower, Warren said Saint Francis wanted to reinvent the way it gives care to patients and used architecture to make the hospital and emergency room seem less intimidating.
“We wanted to create a sense of confidence within our patients,” he said.
The expansion has been 12 years in the making and marks a significant milestone for the hospital.
Construction began September 2011. A new $18 million parking garage with 700 spaces was built on campus.
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The lobby was built to make use of natural light and windows throughout the tower give gracious views of Tulsa.
It was designed with energy conservation in mind, as well.
There was 450,000 square feet of new construction and 50,000 square feet of renovation.
The bottom floor of the eight-story tower has a new trauma center with 85 treatment rooms and separate areas for pediatric patients, who also have separate entrances and waiting areas.
The trauma center has four trauma/resuscitation rooms, 12 acute/critical care rooms, 39 adult general medicine stations, four triage stations and one decontamination room.
The trauma center also has the ability to adapt to the needs of a disaster if necessary. It has a heated, covered ambulance bay with room for 14 ambulances.
Saint Francis Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Barry Steichen said much of the credit for the new tower goes to current and past employees of the health system.
“It is because of their good work and vision that Saint Francis has the recognition and stability that it has,” he said.
Saint Francis CEO Jake Henry said the new tower should have a lasting impression on the community.
“History and time will ultimately be the judge,” he said. He is confident it will pass muster, he said.
In an interview last week, Henry said Tulsa’s growing older population was a major reason for building the new tower.
The hospital was turning away some adult patients because it didn’t have the necessary beds, officials said.
At the ribbon cutting Wednesday, Warren thanked Tulsans for allowing the hospital the opportunity to serve and care for them.
“Tulsa and Oklahoma deserve the best of the best,” he said. “We should never, ever settle for anything less.”
