Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital Expansion

On Tuesday, November 7, Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital, part of Saint Francis Health System, broke ground on a $70 million expansion that will increase inpatient capacity and services to help address the community’s mental health needs.

Laureate currently has 45 acute psychiatric beds, 30 senior behavioral health beds and 15 inpatient beds for those with eating disorders. This project will add 60 new beds for acute behavioral healthcare.

With projected completion by mid-2025, the expansion plan also will add a crisis center for those who need more care than an outpatient visit can provide but less than an inpatient hospital stay. This area will be available for stabilization and stays of 23 hours or less.

“Severe, untreated mental illness is a key driver of poverty, violence, homelessness and incarceration,” said Ken Moore, president of Laureate. “Being able to provide treatment can prevent some of those problems.”

Even for patients not in a psychiatric crisis, mental health care is critical for all patients. As a family physician, Saint Francis president and CEO Cliff Robertson, M.D., said many of his former patients suffered from depression and anxiety and needed care for their mental health just the same as for their physical ailments.

Last year, Laureate provided 60,000 outpatient visits in addition to varied levels of inpatient care.

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said that Tulsa, like many other cities, is experiencing a mental health crisis. Tulsa has the highest rate of teen suicide in the state. Domestic violence and homelessness are on the rise, and many police and fire calls have a mental health component to them, he said.

“Yet again, the Saint Francis Health System is leading the way in addressing one of our city’s greatest health challenges,” Bynum said.

While the city’s first responders have been trained to deal with those in crisis, Bynum recognizes that medical professionals are the ones best equipped to manage mental health needs.

“Our city is so grateful to Saint Francis for making mental health care a priority,” Bynum said. “We need healthcare providers to be leading the way, and Saint Francis Health System is doing that.”

Mental health care has been a longtime priority of the Warren family, who founded Saint Francis Hospital in 1960. Founded in 1989, Laureate originally was a freestanding hospital just south of Saint Francis Hospital until 1997, when Saint Francis Health System was formed, and Laureate became part of the system.

“You can’t address a challenge unless you acknowledge it exists,” Bynum said. “We are doing so much as a community to address the mental health crisis in Tulsa right now, and this is a huge step forward. Thank you, Laureate!”

Saint Francis’ executive vice present and chief operating officer, Barry Steichen, began his career with the health system at Laureate in 1993. He said working at Laureate allowed him to “realize the importance of mental health in a person’s overall health.”

Today, Steichen has been a driving force behind the expansion project.

“Most health systems have reduced or eliminated mental health services,” Steichen said. “We’re blessed to be expanding in an area that has always been a priority for us.”

Details of the project:

Location of project: 6655 S. Yale, Tulsa
Estimated Project Completion: 2025
Project Cost: $70 Million
Architecture Firm: HOK
Construction Company: Crossland Construction
The project encompasses approximately 87,000 square feet of new and renovated clinical space to the Laureate campus.
McDonald Hall: Major expansion to existing shelled facility to add a new behavioral health treatment unit and 60 additional inpatient beds. Laureate currently has 75 inpatient beds and an additional 15 beds in the Laureate Eating Disorders Program.
Administrative Building: Renovation of the Clinical Assessment Department (CAD), the Crisis Stabilization Unit and inpatient pharmacy.
Wells Hall: Expansion of kitchen and dining facilities for patients and the Laureate Eating Disorders Program.
Infrastructure Updates:
- New roofing at the Laureate Outpatient Clinic
- Major equipment replacement at the Central Plant
- New facilities for linen processing and supplies
- New parking lot to accommodate additional visitors to campus