To address capacity concerns, Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Okla., plans to add a $200 million patient tower and trauma emergency center by summer 2014.
The eight-story addition will include intensive care, medical surgical and oncology units; an 85-bed trauma emergency center with a pediatric emergency center; and a helicopter pad. The emergency center will have the capability to expand in times of disaster.
The project will increase Saint Francis' bed count to 1,112 from 962.
David Wagner is senior vice president of facilities management for Saint Francis Health System, the hospital's parent. He said that the hospital operates with an average daily census at 80 percent to 85 percent capacity in medical-surgical areas and at 90 percent to 95 percent capacity in critical care areas. With the Tulsa metropolitan area growing, and the population of people aged 65 and up increasing quickly, an expansion is needed, Wagner said. He added that another driver is that the demand for health care services is expected to increase as more people obtain insurance coverage under health care reform.
With the expansion project, Saint Francis is placing a new chapel in a prominent, central location. Saint Francis also is adding a 14-room, on-campus convent for the Sisters of Mercy. The sisters have worked at Saint Francis Hospital since its founding. They live on the campus of a Saint Francis affiliate, Saint Francis Hospital South.
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