Norman Regional cashes in on $1 million in ARPA funds

Mindy Ragan Wood, The Norman Transcript, Okla.
Updated ·2 min read

Aug. 1—Norman Regional Health System accepted a check for $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds from Cleveland County Commissioners on Monday for improvements to its emergency rooms.

The funds will be used to build seven emergency treatment rooms, according a statement from Norman Regional.

Following the commissioners' regular meeting, CEO for NRHS, Ritchie Splitt told The Transcript emergency rooms were hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The emergency room was overwhelmed with patients seeking care, seeking answers, seeking diagnosis and so, it was a big part of it," Splitt said. "The other side of it was up in the patients' tower, when we could put patients in a room, so this expansion of the ER allows us to have those rooms so we can hold, diagnose, treat if needed, admit where needed or return the patient home. It creates a tremendous pressure relief for our health system overall."

Splitt told commissioners he was grateful for their "foresight in helping us prepare out health system for what might be a future pandemic, if one were to return or this one flares up again."

District 1 Rod Cleveland congratulated NRHS on the award and thanked the consultant for APRA expenditures, Melissa Houston of 929 Strategies, for her work on the county's recovery plan.

"We can't get anywhere unless you have a plan," Cleveland said. "We've had to work through a lot to get this done...I appreciate everybody's help and certainly your involvement on different health issues we've had."

District 3 Commissioner Rusty Grissom praised the health system for its planned improvements.

"Norman Regional is a great resource right here in our backyard," he said in a prepared statement. "These improvements to the HealthPlex will enable the hospital to continue to serve our people throughout the county, whether it's dealing with a pandemic or the day-to-day health needs."

The ongoing expansion of NRHS' HealthPlex hospital will include a new patient tower, additional ER treatment rooms, and an ambulatory care center, a statement from NRHS reads. A parking garage and concourse style entrance are also planned.

Additional plans to construct a 48-bed behavioral health hospital, revitalization of NRHS' Porter Campus and a partnership with the University of Oklahoma to "bring a Stephenson Cancer Center site to the HealthPlex" is also planned, the statement reads.