Saint Francis Hospital Announces $250 Million Expansion Project

Saint Francis Hospital in South Tulsa is more than doubling its size, by about 200,000 square feet.

The expansion project will start in September and will cost more than $250 million dollars. Vice President of Saint Francis Hospital, Todd Schuster, says the main goal is to add more beds, so they can keep patients there and not have to transfer them to larger hospitals.

"The growth in the area, our volume growth, and COVID-19 just point an exclamation point on our need to grow and expand our campus," Schuster said. 

Schuster says the hospital opened in 2008 and originally was built to be a heart hospital. He says the hospital regularly had to transfer patients to their other hospitals because of higher demand and not enough space. "With a future growing population that is going to need additional healthcare services we felt like this was the right time to do this major expansion here at South," Schuster told News on 6. 

The project includes a 6-story tower, adding 120 more beds. It will also add 4 more operating rooms and another parking garage. The expansion is the largest in Saint Francis history. "It's the largest in terms of financial contribution to the system and the community that we've had to date --- it will be the largest capital project," Schuster explained. 

Schuster says the south hospital with continue to be a community hospital and will better complement the main campus. The project will have 5 phases, and all the beds and operating rooms will be open during construction.

The expansion is expected to be finished by 2025.