Oklahoma City - Governor Brad Henry, legislative leaders and Tulsa officials announced today that they have finalized an agreement to save the Oklahoma State University medical program and the OSU Medical Center in Tulsa. The plan will provide, among other things, immediate support to the Tulsa health care system, adding hundreds of millions of new public and private dollars.
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>Last week, the Governor, House Speaker Chris Benge, Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee and Treasurer Scott Meacham met with OSU leaders and Tulsa stakeholders to hammer out a tentative deal. In the days that followed, the parties reviewed the details and gave their final approval, clearing the way for today?s announcement.
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>Under the agreement, Ardent Health Services, the current owner of the OSU hospital, will donate the facility to a local Tulsa trust, which will then contract with St. John Health System to operate the hospital.
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>To ensure the success of the effort, the state will allocate $25 million in capital funding to update and retool the OSU Medical Center and provide a $48 million, five-year state contribution for operating costs. The state will allocate $28 million in operational funds the first year followed by annual $5 million appropriations in the subsequent four years. Another $2.5 million will be earmarked annually for clinical care for indigent patients.
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>The Kaiser Family Foundation and St. John have also committed private funds to ensure the continued viability of the OSU Medical Center. They have agreed to provide $7 million a year for five years, for a total of $35 million, for operating expenses.
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>An additional component of the plan would further address indigent care concerns at OSU Medical Center as well as the surrounding Tulsa area. The state has agreed to mount an aggressive campaign to enroll eligible patients in Insure Oklahoma, a state initiative that provides subsidized health insurance to working individuals and families. The state share of the Tulsa enrollment effort could be as much as $51 million annually and should substantially relieve the pressures of uncompensated care at OSUMC and throughout the Tulsa area.
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>Under the agreement, the State of Oklahoma will invest up to $328 million into the OSU Medical Center and healthcare in Tulsa over the next five years.
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>?This initiative will help address the most significant health care challenges in the Tulsa area,? said Gov. Henry. ?It preserves the OSU medical program, saves the OSU Medical Center and targets the root of the indigent care problem with the help of Insure Oklahoma.
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>?I want to thank legislative leaders, Treasurer Meacham and all of the Tulsa stakeholders for their hard work. I also want to thank George Kaiser and the Kaiser Family Foundation for stepping forward with their private support to make this initiative a reality. It would not have happened without that kind of local, private support.?
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>?I would like to add my voice of thanks and appreciation to those leaders who have worked so hard to bring about this solution to the health care delivery system in Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma,? Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee said. ?I?m pleased we now have clarification on this matter so we can move forward to meet the medical needs of those served by this facility.
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>?All along we have wanted to stabilize the OSU residency program without adversely affecting indigent care in northeastern Oklahoma, and I believe this agreement successfully does just that,? Speaker of the House Chris Benge said.
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>OSU President Burns Hargis commented, ?We sincerely thank the many state and local leaders who diligently worked through an assortment of complex issues to seek a plan to preserve the OSU residency program and this critical source of physicians for Oklahoma as well as to ensure the availability of indigent health care in Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma.?
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>"St. John appreciates the support of city and state leaders who worked tirelessly to find a viable long-term solution that will continue accreditation for Oklahoma State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine and allow Oklahoma State University Medical Center to remain a viable provider of healthcare services to the citizens of Oklahoma," said Lex Anderson, St. John Health System chief financial officer. "We believe we have arrived at a comprehensive plan that will provide medical care to many of our state's poorest and most vulnerable citizens, while continuing OSU's educational programs to create the next generation of physicians that will serve all of Oklahoma.?
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>The parties to the agreement believe the OSU Medical Center will be operating profitably in five years due to the impact of the Insure Oklahoma initiative and the public and private investments. Gov. Henry and legislative leaders said they hope to pass legislation implementing the Tulsa agreement in the first month of the legislative session in February.
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>Jennifer Monies
>Press Secretary for
>the Speaker of the House
I guess this is when the competitiveness comes into play!!! Hopefully we will all get interviews on the same day 
