Oklahoma lawmakers are debating whether to fund a $124 million shortfall for construction of a new inpatient mental health hospital, Oklahoma Voice reported April 1.
The Oklahoma City-based Donahue Behavioral Health Campus was budgeted for $147 million, with $87 million of the total coming from pandemic relief funds. The project broke ground in March 2024 and was slated to open 2026. The 330-bed hospital for adults and adolescents would replace the Norman, Okla.-based Griffin Memorial Hospital.
However, the state House of Representatives recommended not fulfilling the request for $124 million to cover cost overruns.
“The House position is we want to do something transformational when it comes to shortening that waitlist, especially when it comes to mental health issues,” Rep. Trey Caldwell, chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, told the news outlet. “The Donahue build-out, as it stands right now, not only has come in over budget, but also had hiccups along the lines of, they forgot to put bathrooms in .… There’s a facility out there that I think we can purchase for about 15% of what it would cost to build the Donahue, and we want to get that done.”
In December 2024, the hospital’s open date was pushed back to 2028 due to unexpected costs, changes in the layout and inflation. Kelsey Davis, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, told the news outlet there are no updates from the agency on their next steps. The agency is working on what the future of the project will look like if it does not receive the extra funding.
