OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – The OMES Grants Management Office wants to recognize several state agencies that are championing infrastructure projects with funding from the Oklahoma Legislature utilizing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. In 2023, all agencies made significant progress on laying the groundwork and getting plans in place for these construction projects, and they are positioned well to make great strides forward in 2024 on programs that directly impact Oklahomans and their quality of life. Just a few of these ARPA infrastructure projects include:
Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS)
The ODMHSAS has two behavioral health building projects, partially funded by ARPA, set to begin during spring 2024. $87 million went to construct the new Donahue Behavioral Health hospital on the Oklahoma State University campus in Oklahoma City. The hospital is scheduled to break ground in March 2024 and open in early 2026. Another $56.46 million was awarded to create the Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center, a 140,000 square-foot facility located in the OSU Academic Medical District in downtown Tulsa. ODMHSAS broke ground on the center in March 2023, and the project is slated to wrap up in the fall of 2025.
Oklahoma State University Medical Authority (OSUMA)
The OSUMA was awarded two $50 million installments of ARPA to construct two new buildings starting in spring to summer 2024. One installment helps fund a state-of-the-art facility for the Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute at the OSU Stillwater campus aims to support strategies and treatments for obesity in our state, as well as other public health measures. The other installment supports the creation of a Pharmaceutical Development Lab in Tulsa as part of the National Center for Wellness & Recovery at the OSU Center for Health Sciences. This facility seeks to identify specific strategies and solutions to address opioid addiction in Oklahoma, following the rise of overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both projects are expected to complete in the fall of 2026.
University Hospitals Authority and Trust (UHAT)
Seeking to address a critical need for pediatric behavioral health services in our state, $39.4 million in ARPA funds was dedicated to the UHAT to construct a new pediatric behavioral health facility in Oklahoma City as part of the downtown OU Health Campus. The team broke ground on the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health Behavioral Health Center on Nov. 1, with an estimated completion of spring 2026.
Read more: UHAT uses federal funds responsibly to improve the lives of Oklahomans.
J.D. McCarty Center (JDMC)
The JDMC is expanding its Norman facility to increase occupancy and provide better care for young Oklahomans with developmental disabilities who were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funded with $6 million in ARPA dollars, the expansion construction is expected to begin in February 2024 and end in the summer of 2025.
Health Care Workforce Training Commission (HWTC)
The HWTC was awarded $10,030,319 in ARPA funds to support public health through a new Oklahoma College of Optometry at the Northeastern State University campus in Tahlequah. NSU broke ground on the project in June 2023, and construction is slated to begin in earnest during spring 2024. The 78,000 square-foot facility aims to expand services to patients, improve access to health and health education in the State of Oklahoma, increase educational opportunities by growing class size and producing more doctors for Oklahoma, and improve the negative economic impacts imposed by COVID-19 by drawing outside students to our state. This project is estimated to be completed in fall 2026.
For a full list of all ARPA programs, please view the 2023 SLFRF report. To track live progress of all State of Oklahoma ARPA programs, check out the new ARPA Program Tracker dashboard.
As we close the year, the OMES Grants Management team wants to take time to recognize the accomplishments of all our agency partners overseeing ARPA programs. Thank you for all your hard work, and we’re excited to see how these programs will progress in 2024!
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About OMES
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: Provide excellent service, expert guidance and continuous improvement in support of our partners’ goals. For more information, visit oklahoma.gov/omes. For more information on the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) progress, visit oklahoma.gov/arpa.
Media Contact
Christa Helfrey
christa.helfrey@omes.ok.gov
