With 20 general medical and surgical hospitals, four specialized hospitals, and two federal medical installations with a combined total of more than 5,000 beds in the area, Oklahoma City has become a leading health referral center in the Southwest. The state-owned OU Medical Center and The Children's Hospital of OU Medical Center merged with Oklahoma City-based, for-profit Presbyterian Hospital in a private-public partnership called University Health Partners in 1998 to form the largest medical care and research center in Oklahoma. In 2003 the hospital's governing board announced plans for a $180 million expansion and renovation project that will update all current facilities while providing the Children's Hospital with its own separate entrance and facilities to make navigation easier on pediatric patients and their families. Other facilities include the INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center and INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center, Deaconess Hospital, the Bone and Joint Hospital, Mercy Health Center, and St. Anthony Hospital.
Health Care Information: Oklahoma State Department of Health—Information and Referral Healthline, 1100 N.E. 10th Street, Box 53551, Oklahoma City, OK 73152; telephone (405)271-5600