The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) has agreed to purchase a vacant hospital in south Oklahoma City for $18.5 million, with an additional $41.5 million allocated for renovations and upgrades.
The total project cost, funded in part by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, amounts to $60 million. The ARPA funds were originally earmarked for a planned Donahue Behavioral Health Hospital, a project that faced escalating construction costs and was redirected toward renovating existing facilities.
Transition Plan And Facility Purpose
The plan is to relocate operations from Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman, an inpatient mental health facility with a history spanning more than a century. The new OKC site will ultimately replace Griffin’s bed capacity, consolidating inpatient mental health services into a modern, centrally located campus. The initial phase aims to open the first 32 inpatient beds by the end of December, as Norman begins winding down its operations.
Bed Capacity And Service Scope
The long-term objective is to expand the number of inpatient beds beyond Griffin Memorial’s current total of at least 120 beds. The specific bed count for the new south OKC facility has not been finalized, but ODMHSAS spokesperson Maria Chaverri noted that the campus will be expanded beyond Griffin’s current capacity. Initially, the hospital will serve adult patients; plans to include pediatric or adolescent services have not been confirmed at this stage.
Rationale And Expected Benefits
Officials describe the move as a modernization effort designed to improve access to behavioral-health care and streamline operations. A centrally located facility is expected to facilitate easier access for patients across the region and support more coordinated care. Interim Mental Health Commissioner Greg Slavonic emphasized that the relocation is intended to address longstanding funding and operational challenges without imposing new costs on taxpayers, while delivering more reliable inpatient services for Oklahomans.
Status And Timeline
Renovations will be conducted in phases, beginning with preparing the former SSM Health hospital site at SW 59 and Penn for patient admission. The agency anticipates that the first set of beds will be ready for occupancy by year’s end, with full transition timelines determined as renovations progress and as Norman’s facilities wind down.
Norman city officials have not publicly announced a plan for Griffin Memorial’s campus after the relocation. As the state updates its inpatient infrastructure, local stakeholders will be watching for impacts on housing, workforce, and access to mental-health services in the region.
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