House eyes Oklahoma mental health hospital alternative amid soaring price tag
An artist rendering of the Donahue Behavioral Health Campus. (Courtesy image)
OKLAHOMA CITY — The construction of a new inpatient mental health hospital is $124 million over budget, and House budget leaders do not want taxpayers to pick up the tab.
The Donahue Behavioral Health Campus, located in Oklahoma City, was budgeted for $147 million and broke ground in March 2024. It would serve adults and adolescents with 330 beds when completed, an increase in capacity by 100 beds from the Griffin Memorial Hospital, in Norman, it is intended to replace.
But in its budget request to the Legislature for the 2026 fiscal year, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services asked for another $124 million to cover overrun costs. The House recommended not fulfilling this request.
Rep. Trey Caldwell, R-Faxon, chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, said House leaders believe the Donahue project is too costly and a cheaper alternative must be found.
'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,' he said. '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.'
He said there's no 'firm commitment' from the governor, the Senate or the Mental Health Department on this recommendation, but the House is working to see this plan come to fruition.
In December, Oklahoma Watch reported the budget shortfall and that the opening of the hospital could potentially be pushed to 2028, rather than the scheduled 2026 date, due to unexpected costs, changes in the layout and number of bathrooms, and inflation.
Kelsey Davis, a spokesperson for the Mental Health Department, said there are no updates from the agency on their next steps or the reason for the cost overrun.
The agency is actively working through what the future of the project will look like if the Legislature opts not to provide the extra funding, she said.
Lawmakers committed $87 million in pandemic relief funds to the project. Oklahoma City leaders and county commissioners also contributed funding, with additional dollars expected to come from the sale of the Griffin Memorial Hospital land.
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