Owasso will soon be home to a new health care facility.
Ascension St. John, in partnership with Encompass Health Corp., moved dirt Thursday morning on a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital located off 86th Street.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the $26 million project convened dozens of hospital officials and community leaders at the future 7-acre site, which will provide care for local patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries.
“We’re very, very excited for the service that will be offered here in Owasso,” Ascension President and CEO Jeff Nowlin said. “When we talk about inpatient rehab and what we’re going to build here together … it’s an extension of the care we provide each and every day.”
Patients suffering from strokes, neurological disorders, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions will receive intensive treatment at Owasso’s new health care center, complete with a therapy gym, daily living suite, cafeteria, dining room, pharmacy and courtyard.
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The facility will be located nearly two miles south of Ascension St. John Owasso’s current hospital, built in 2006. It will also serve as the second joint venture between Ascension and Encompass in addition to the organizations’ 60-bed rehabilitation hospital in Broken Arrow.
“We’re very proud to be partnered with Encompass … they are hitting the marks in all the standards,” Ascension Regional President and COO Mike McBride said. “What’s most exciting is being able to extend the great clinical quality, the great customer service, the great culture into another community.”
Encompass President and CEO Mark Tarr added: “We are truly excited to be here in Owasso, excited to expand. This never gets old — coming in and having the community support like we have here, and coming into a community that’s growing.”
Ascension’s groundbreaking came a week after the organization opened a new primary care clinic in Collinsville. It also fell a few days after Warren Clinic announced its plans to construct a $27.5 million facility off of 96th Street — two projects that will contribute to Owasso becoming a major hub for health care, incoming Owasso Chamber President Chelsea Levo Feary said.
“Health care is the top target industry in Owasso,” she said. “We want to nurture and continue to help those industries grow in Owasso today and into the future, and with that, we want to say thank you to Ascension St. John and Encompass Health for continuing to invest in this community.”
Ascension’s future Owasso site, set to open in spring 2023, will offer 24-hour nursing care by an interdisciplinary team of highly specialized nurses, therapists and physicians who aim to restore functional ability and quality of life to local patients.
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