St. John Broken Arrow opened new intensive care unit

Ascension St. John Broken Arrow celebrated the opening of its new intensive care unit Monday. The hospital’s new ICU will be the first in the Tulsa metro outside the City of Tulsa.

Hospital officials and community leaders blessed the new $8 million intensive care unit Monday, with plans for it to begin serving patients Tuesday.

The ICU is housed on what was formerly unused shell space on the hospital’s sixth floor.

In total, the unit houses 18 beds. 4 will be used for intensive care, 14 for progressive care.

The hospital estimates the ICU will serve around 1500 patients each year.

Next week, Ascension St. John in Owasso will open an identical 18-bed intensive care unit of its own. Hospital officials say the plans for Ascension St. John Broken Arrow’s new ICU were already in the works before the COVID-19 pandemic, but seeing the effect it had on hospitals across the world, they knew it was time to get this unit up and running.

“As the pandemic hit, it was like… we’re making the decision… we’re moving forward with these beds,” Said Matt Adams, President of Ascension St. John Broken Arrow. “With these 18 beds here in Broken Arrow, as well as 18 additional beds that are coming on in broken arrow. That’s 36 additional patients who will be receiving care. Where before, they might’ve been stuck in the ER, they might’ve been stuck in a hallway bed.”

Not only is the ICU adding new healthcare capacity for the area, but it’s also adding new employment opportunities. The hospital says it added nearly 40 new jobs for the new unit. Economic leaders in Broken Arrow say the impact of the new ICU could be around $3.3 million dollars yearly for the city’s economy.

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