Oklahoma Heart Hospital Breaks Ground on

$30 Million Expansion Project

Increased Patient Demand for Services Results

in 70,000-square-feet Addition to Existing Facility

OKLAHOMA CITY –Oklahoma Heart Hospital, the first all-digital hospital in the nation totally dedicated to hearts, is undertaking a major expansion project adding 70,000 square-feet to its existing facility at an estimated cost of $30-million.

“The growth of the Oklahoma Heart Hospital has far outpaced our expectations and in five short years we must add patient beds, emergency rooms and treatment areas to meet the patient demand,” noted Dr. John Harvey, President and CEO.  “The success of the Oklahoma Heart Hospital has been in bringing together a team of cardiovascular specialist physicians and nurses who specialize in heart and coronary vascular disease all under one roof, designed with the singular purpose of caring for hearts.”  

The four-story facility expansion will include 12 upgraded emergency room beds, 16 additional inpatient beds, 10 more day patient beds and another electro physiology lab to care for the increasing number of patients with heart arrhythmia problems.

Patient satisfaction has been the hallmark of success at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital. Oklahoma Heart Hospital leads the nation in patient satisfaction and was recognized by Press Ganey in 2006 with the Summit Award given to hospitals that maintain the 95th percentile of patient satisfaction for three consecutive years. The hospitals acutal patient satisfaction rate is above the 99th percentile level.  

The hospitals quality of care has also attracted national attention.  Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported the hospital achieved a 100% rating for delivering quality treatment to the highest number of cardiovascular patients. In addition, Oklahoma Heart Hospital leads the state in patient outcomes as measured by the Center for Medicare Services in the Core Measure Program. The Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality recently honored the hospital as the Top Performer in Oklahoma for larger hospitals. The American Association for Critical Nursing also recognized them for their Beacon Award for Nursing Excellence. Just this month, Oklahoma Heart Hospital was selected as 2007 Friend of Nursing by the Oklahoma Nurses Association and previously received that associations Excellence in the Workplace award.

“The care at the bedside at Oklahoma Heart Hospital also sets us apart. We are ranked highest in the nation in RN workplace satisfaction. The 24/7 nursing ratio is unsurpassed in the United States with a 1:2 ratio in critical care and one nurse for every four patients in the post coronary care unit,” continued Dr. Harvey. “The average nurse has 10 years of cardiac experience and the nursing retention rate is a striking 98.5%. Our physician partners, Oklahoma Cardiovascular Associates are based out of the hospital allowing most of their cardiovascular specialists to maintain their offices and clinics on site, keeping us just steps away from patients in an emergency and very involved in daily operations.”

The successful model on the north side of Oklahoma City prompted physicians from four hospitals to come together to build very similar hospital in the underserved south part of Oklahoma City, the new hospital will be Oklahoma Heart Hospital South Campus and will be located near 1-240 and Sooner Road.  The new hospital will be a mirror image of the Oklahoma Heart Hospital North Campus.  Ground will be broken this fall and opening is set for 2009.