Saint Francis growth

Saint Francis plans expansion

By Cathy Spaulding

Muskogee Phoenix

Health care has gone through many changes since Muskogee General Hospital opened at 300 Rockefeller Drive in 1959.

The hospital later was named Muskogee Regional Medical Center.

Capella Healthcare acquired MRMC in 2007. Out of the acquisition, Capella Healthcare entered into an agreement with the Muskogee Regional Health Center Trust Authority, a public trust, to lease Muskogee Regional Medical Center for a term of 40 years. City officials created the City of Muskogee Foundation in 2008 as a nonprofit corporation from the net proceeds of this lease.

In November 2012, MRMC merged with the former Muskogee Community Hospital to form Eastar Health System.

Saint Francis Health System acquired the hospital in 2017, bringing even more change and growth.

“Our total investments to date in capital improvement is $85 million,” said Saint Francis Muskogee President Michele Keeling. “This represents improvements to the facility’s roof, air handling, hot water heaters. There’s new technology, state of the art imaging equipment, cath (catheterization) lab, which represents $30 million. In workforce development, in addition to new jobs, we have been able to invest $25 million in wage adjustments to compete with larger urban areas.”

Keeling said the radiology department has almost an entire suite of new radiology equipment, including a new X-ray and a new MRI machine. Another MRI machine has been ordered, she said.

The hospital added robotic surgery in 2018, and obtained a surgical robot for the operating room within the past year, she said.

Saint Francis Muskogee has committed to even more growth. The health care system will add a seven-story tower, containing more than 125 patient rooms, to its existing hospital within four years.

Keeling said the addition offers “a tremendous opportunity for growth in new jobs and services.”

The expansion will add at least 245,000 square feet and will feature a new lobby and waiting area for families, as well as a new chapel.

“The rooms are much bigger, so we’ll be able to have a sofa in the room and be able to have more guests, “ she said. New rooms will have larger windows for more natural light. The rooms also will have more mechanical support for negative air flow, which is important for respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 and tuberculosis.

Emergency and critical care services also will expand, she said.

“Right now, the ER is kind of landlocked because the critical care area is to the south,” she said. “We are going to move critical care to the new buildings.”

This means more critical care rooms with advanced technology, Keeling said. Once critical care moves to the new unit, the emergency room will expand to a new space with better ambulance access, she said.

The addition sends a message to Muskogee, even as other rural hospitals close, Keeling said.

“It says we’re committed forever, for the long haul,” Keeling said. “We’re building this because we’re certain that the future of Muskogee is bright.”

In this 2012 photo, Officials, from, left, Muskogee Regional Medical Center Medical Staff President Dr. Dwayne Atwell, left, Eastar Health System Board Chair Kathy Hewitt, Capella Healthcare CEO Dan Slipkovich, Connors State College President Tim Faltyn and Dr. Timothy Holder unveil a new

name and mission for the hospital. (File photo)

Expansion plans for Saint Francis Muskogee Hospital include a

seven-story tower and more than 125 new patient rooms. (ST. FRANCIS HEALTH SYSTEMS/Submited)

New operating room technology in place at Saint Francis Muskogee

hospital incorporates robotics. (LYNN CASEY/Submitted)

Saint Francis Muskogee hospital will have a new chapel and a modern new look along with a seven-story

expansion. (SAINT FRANCIS HEALTH SYSTEMS/Submitted)