Oklahoma Delegation paves way for additional $31.2M in federal funding for new Veterans Hospital in Tulsa
Oklahoma Delegation paves way for additional $31.2M
in federal funding for new Veterans Hospital in Tulsa
The legal and financial approvals completed last week to
compensate for inflation in construction costs
TULSA, Okla. (Friday, Jan. 6, 2023) – Oklahoma’s federal congressional delegation worked diligently for the past seven months to ensure Oklahoma’s veterans get the absolute best hospital care in spite of inflationary construction cost escalation occurring across the board in the United States. Last week, the legal and financial approvals were paved to allow for an additional $31.2M in federal funding toward Tulsa’s new Veterans Hospital.
This will bring the total renovation budget for the new VA Hospital on the Oklahoma State University Academic Medical Campus to $171.2M, of which $151.2M will be federal construction dollars coming into Oklahoma.
Sen. Inhofe was instrumental in the success of this effort by securing the necessary legislative language in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to help improve public-private construction projects undertaken by the VA. Additionally, led by Sen. Lankford and along with Rep. Hern, Oklahoma’s delegation successfully worked to ensure that these needed capital funds for Veterans would be provided through the omnibus bill which was signed into law last week.
This $171.2M VA Hospital renovation transforms the former Kerr-Edmondson State Office Buildings. It is part of the OSU Academic Medical Campus Expansion which, along with slated OSU Medical Center renovations, now totals more than $450M in new and improved healthcare facilities – the largest ever healthcare investment in downtown Tulsa. The campus expansion consists of the new Veterans Hospital in Tulsa, a new 100-bed Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center, a 500-space parking garage, and a new Pharmaceutical Research Laboratory and Clinical Center.
The $31.2M in additional federal funding for the VA Hospital covers the well-documented inflationary cost escalation occurring during the fallout from the national COVID crisis.
The new VA Hospital will be the single largest off-base federal construction investment in Oklahoma outside of transportation packages. Combined, OSU’s will be the largest construction project in downtown Tulsa since the Williams Towers were constructed in the mid-1970s. Construction on the VA Hospital is scheduled to be completed in late 2024 and opened by the VA in mid-2025. However, Tulsans should expect new growth and supportive projects around the OSU Medicine campus for many years to come.
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About VHiT
VHiT LLC is a nonprofit vehicle for the development and construction of a new, 58-bed, Veterans Hospital in Tulsa. It is owned and managed by The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation. The project itself is a three-way partnership among 1) Oklahoma State University, 2) VHiT LLC, and 3) the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. An array of supporting partners have played critical roles, including the State of Oklahoma, the City of Tulsa and Tulsa County. In addition, private donors have invested funds in support of both the VA Hospital and the larger OSU Medical Campus Expansion.
Learn more about the Veterans Hospital in Tulsa (VHiT) online at www.VHiT.org.
Photo cutline: Night Rendering of the New VA Hospital in Tulsa at 7th and Houston, downtown on the expanded Oklahoma State University Academic Medical Campus.
