OU Children’s Hospital and UHAT make significant progress on mental health facility

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), which oversees Oklahoma’s American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, recognizes its partner, University Hospitals Authority and Trust (UHAT) for outstanding progress on Oklahoma’s first comprehensive children's mental health facility.

In just under a year, OU Health and UHAT have broken ground on the facility and reached an important milestone in its construction phase. In October, OU Health invited officials to celebrate the Topping Out Ceremony and watch as the last beam was placed on the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Behavioral Health Center. 

The state Legislature appropriated $39,400,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (ARPA-SLFRF) for UHAT to fund a freestanding pediatric behavioral health facility that serves pediatric patients from every county in Oklahoma.

“The significance of this milestone cannot be understated,” said Senate Pro-Tem Designate Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle. “Once operational, this first of its kind children’s mental health facility will serve pediatric patients in both rural and urban communities across the state. I am proud of this accomplishment and my fellow members of the Joint Committee on Pandemic Relief Funding for directing these funds to this much needed project. Our commitment shows we are working tirelessly to find solutions to problems that impact Oklahoma children, who are among our most vulnerable populations.”

"Oklahoma children across our state deserve access to quality mental and behavioral health care," said Speaker-Elect Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. “The investments we're making across the state represent a significant step forward in providing critical, long-term care. Too many children have had to cross state lines to find care, if they could even find it at all, and we are committed to creating a future where every child facing mental health challenges can find the care they need in Oklahoma."

The center will have a 72-bed capacity to deliver high-quality mental health care to pediatric patients from every county in Oklahoma.

One in five Oklahoma youth have been diagnosed with a significant mental health disorder, according to OU Health. That includes anxiety, depression, mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and other serious disorders.

Although, mental health needs are growing in our community, mental health services have not expanded at the same rate. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was identified that these children need more robust treatment than Oklahoma can provide. The Behavioral Health Center at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital hopes to bridge the gap and increase access to mental health care.

The Behavioral Health Center will serve children and adolescents from across Oklahoma, offering intensive treatment and inpatient care. This facility and the health professionals who will be working in there aim to eliminate barriers that separate Oklahoma youth from medical treatment.

“The University Hospitals Authority and Trust are proud to partner with the University of Oklahoma and OU Health to deliver what we believe will be the most advanced pediatric behavioral health center in the country to serve Oklahoma’s children,” said Randy Dowell, UHAT CEO. “We are thankful to OMES and the Grants Management Office for their continued support and assistance in administering this and other OU Health-related projects funded through the ARPA process.”

The 172,775-square-foot facility was specifically designed to be warm, welcoming and healing with the most advanced treatment options available for patients. The behavioral health center is slated to be fully operational and seeing patients in December 2026.

“Today is the day we pause and reflect on how much has been done and how much more we can do. This is how you lift the health of a state,” said President Harroz. “It cannot be done just by government, just by the private sector, just by the academic health system. It takes all of us and this is an amazing tribute to that.”

OMES is excited to see this project come to fruition under UHAT's leadership. We commend them for their dedication to increasing mental health access and transforming the mental health landscape of the state. 

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services provides financial, property, purchasing, human resources and information technology services to all state agencies and assists the Governor’s Office on budgetary policy matters. Our mission is to provide excellent service, expert guidance and continuous improvement in support of our partners’ goals. For more information on the agency, visit oklahoma.gov/omes. For more information on the state’s American Rescue Plan Act progress, visit the ARPA website. 

The Grants Management Office is the central administering entity of the American Rescue Plan Act's State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund for the State of Oklahoma. Our team builds partnerships and collaborates with state agencies in the use of ARPA-SLFRF dollars. Our goal is to be a supportive partner to agencies to help them accomplish their ARPA-SLFRF project goals. For more information on the state’s ARPA-SLFRF progress, visit oklahoma.gov/arpa