Correction
This story was updated at 3:45 p.m. Nov. 21 to reflect that the Oklahoma State Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse had planned to build a new hospital in Oklahoma City, not in Norman
Griffin Memorial Hospital will move its services to southwest Oklahoma City after the Oklahoma State Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse withdrew its plans to build a new hospital in Oklahoma City.
The hospital, which is currently on Griffin Drive in Norman, will move to SSM Health South. All 120 beds will move to the renovated location, which is said to have increased capacity according to an on-background from the department.
The state department plans to sell the land Griffin Memorial occupied, according to KFOR. Norman has no plans to buy the land, but encouraged a city partner to aid in the restoration of the land.
OU Daily reached out to Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman for comment, but did not receive an immediate response before publication.
Griffin Memorial Hospital has been in operation since 1915. The hospital provides an acute psychiatric facility for adults and a teaching program for physicians striving for certification in neurology and psychiatry.
The department cited cost efficiency as the reason for the move. The initial development was set to cost over $130 million.
“We are striving towards creating a modern facility that better supports Oklahoma’s behavioral health system … ,” the department wrote in an on-background release.“Our goal is to ensure any investment of taxpayer dollars supports a long-term, modern solution for behavioral health treatment in Oklahoma.”
In a press release issued earlier this month, the department stated the renovation of the standing SSM hospital will cost $60 million.
The department wrote the move will begin once it completes the process of buying the building.
According to the department, the sale will be completed this winter, with the first phase of the renovation set to begin in December. Mental health services will still be available for Norman residents.
This story was edited by Thomas Pablo, Ana Barboza, Natalie Armour and Audrey McClour. Vanessa Essien and Gretchen Schultz copy edited this story.
