New Oklahoma City heart hospital gets ready for patients

The $98 million, 163,000-square-foot hospital begins admitting patients Monday.

"Today we celebrate, and tomorrow we go to work treating the hearts of Oklahomans in south Oklahoma City and eastern Oklahoma County,” said John Austin, the hospital’s chief operating officer.

Austin said the 46-bed hospital opens with 16 ICU beds, 30 general cardiovascular rooms, 15 day beds and 10 emergency room beds. The facility was built to expand to 62 beds, a third operating room and a fourth catheterization lab as demand grows, he said.

And that growth wouldn’t be unexpected, hospital officials have said.

The facility dedicated to treating hearts is the second in the metro area; the original Oklahoma Heart Hospital opened in 2002 and officials said it was the first all-digital hospital in America for total heart care. The northwest Oklahoma City location underwent a $98 million expansion in 2006 to response to demand for its services.

"Oklahoma notoriously has one of the highest levels of heart disease in the country and therefore the demand for cardiovascular services has escalated,” said John Harvey, the hospital’s president and chief executive officer.

The hospital is expected to generate development in the area and along the Sooner Road corridor.