Oklahoma Heart Hospital South celebrates its first anniversary after uncertain beginning

This week, the Oklahoma Heart Hospital South Campus celebrates its first anniversary. It's a year that was preceded by an urgency to complete construction and be operating before the national health care reform bill was passed.

The hospital near Interstate 240 and Sooner Road was built by a consortium that includes Oklahoma Heart Hospital North, Mercy Health Center, Midwest Regional Medical Center and Norman Regional Health System. It's owned, in part, by a group of cardiovascular specialists.

Since the bill limited construction of such physician-owned facilities, the future of the hospital was uncertain. For example, the hospital would not be reimbursed for treating Medicare patients if it did not receive state and federal certification.

But physicians at Oklahoma Heart Hospital South began seeing patients on Jan. 18, 2010. The hospital received Medicare certification to treat state-funded Medicaid patients on March 10, and the health care reform bill was signed into law 13 days later.

Officials say the $98 million, all-digital, state-of-the-art hospital that's totally dedicated to heart care has been quite a success in its first year. It's brought about 400 more medical staffers to the southside, including specialists from institutions such as the Mayo Clinic.

Physicians have performed more than 4,500 heart catheterization procedures, 674 surgeries and tended to 4,500 emergency room visits. The ER department, by the way, is staffed 24/7.

The southside hospital was built following the success of Oklahoma Heart Hospital North and a growing demand for cardiovascular services in the region.

Go Back