City on the Hill: Celebrating the Opening of Saint Francis Hospital TEC

Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, recently celebrated the opening of the Page-designed new Trauma Emergency Center (TEC) and Patient Tower, culminating a vision which has been twelve years in the making. The new addition is the largest expansion to the hospital since it opened in 1960 and will nearly double its emergency room capacity.

An article in TulsaPeople magazine, “City on a Hill,” features the 500,000-square-foot addition and renovation, noting that it has the potential to completely transform and improve emergency and trauma care in the northeast Oklahoma region. With 85 treatment spaces and almost double the square footage of the previous emergency center, the new TEC and separate Pediatric Emergency Center are designed to accommodate more than 120,000 patient visits annually.

In the 150-bed patient care tower, the patient rooms have been designed to allow maximum patient visibility, expansive views and daylighting, with ultimate flexibility in patient environments. Every room has been designed to accommodate two patients, if necessary, during an emergency / mass disaster.

By creating the new main entry with a chapel that is immediately accessible and highly visible from the exterior, this expansion seeks to engage visitors, patients and staff, and truly embraces a patient-centric environment. The new lobby attaches directly to the new tower and to the west wing, formerly the tallest tower on the campus. Paying respect to the history of Saint Francis Hospital, portions of the west wing’s Italian pink modular façade remain intact, while the new, spacious atrium lobby with its structural glass-curtain wall adds a modern appearance that is welcoming and spiritually uplifting, and reflects the high-quality care and technology that lies within the hospital.  The chapel features a 563-square-foot stained glass window composed of over 4,000 pieces of glass from as far away as France and Poland.

Designed with energy conservation in mind, the TEC is targeting LEED Silver certification and reflects sustainability and patient-centered care throughout. 

The article also presents the history of the Saint Francis Health System and its continuing commitment to the city of Tulsa. Also highlighted is the strategic planning process envisioned and initiated by Saint Francis President and CEO Jake Henry Jr. which has resulted in the significant growth of the healthcare system over the past decade. 

Read the entire article, “City on a Hill,” by James Pearson. TulsaPeople, September 2014.