Veterans Hospital in Tulsa (VHiT)

VHiT LLC is a nonprofit vehicle for the development and construction of a new $171.2 million, 58-bed, Veterans Hospital in Tulsa.

It is owned and managed by The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation. The project itself is a three-way partnership among Oklahoma State University, including the Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences and Oklahoma State Medical Authority and Trust; VHiT LLC, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

An array of supporting partners have played critical roles, including the state of Oklahoma (Governor’s Office, Office of Management and Enterprise Services, State Legislature, Commissioners of the Land Office), the City of Tulsa, Tulsa County and the Tulsa Regional Chamber. In addition, a number of private donors have invested funds in support of both the VA Hospital and the larger OSU Medical Campus Expansion.

VA Hospital by the numbers

275,000

Square Footage

Number of Medical/ Surgical Beds

2025

Estimated Opening

65,000+

Number of Veterans living in the Tulsa area

Support for a Veterans Hospital in Tulsa

“This project is special to Oklahoma State University. We have great respect for the women and men who have served and are serving our country in defense of liberty and the pursuit of peace. We enjoy a longstanding relationship with the military, proudly graduating many students who become leaders in our armed forces. We are especially grateful to Senators Jim Inhofe and James Lankford for shepherding the funding for this project with the Administration and Congress. The approval of the federal funding for this project represents a significant achievement and step forward in reaching our shared goal to provide our veterans in northeast Oklahoma with an exceptional medical facility to care for them. We also appreciate the generosity of The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation. Without their unwavering support, this project would never have proceeded. Lastly, I recognize the leadership of Dr. Kayse Shrum, president of the OSU-Center for Health Sciences, for her visionary leadership in bringing this project forward.” – Burns Hargis, Retired President, Oklahoma State University

“The new VA hospital in Tulsa is a historic victory that will offer long lasting and far- reaching benefits for our Veterans, the VA, and our community. By expanding services in Tulsa, EOVAHCS will be strategically positioned to provide the highest level of care to our Veterans for decades to come. The Eastern Oklahoma VA Healthcare System has begun planning and analysis to convert the Jack C. Montgomery Medical Center in Muskogee. These efforts include consideration of expanding behavioral health, rehabilitation, and long-term care for veterans in Oklahoma and surrounding states.” – Mark E. Morgan, MHA, FACHE (Retired) Former Director, Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System

“Veterans across the country deserve economic opportunity and quality healthcare,” Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “That is why the City of Tulsa is thankful for the opportunity help create a new VA Hospital in Downtown Tulsa. This has been a true team effort, with the citizens of Tulsa stepping up in partnership with the State of Oklahoma, our Oklahoma Congressional delegation, and The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation to make this a reality. And as a result of that quintessential Tulsa collaboration, thousands of Veterans will receive the health care they deserve right here in Tulsa.” – Mayor Bynum

“From our first meetings with Dr. Shrum and Dr. Stephens at OSU Medicine, we knew this project could be a triple winner for Oklahoma. Veterans get dramatically improved healthcare, the State gets more doctors that are better trained, and the City of Tulsa seeds an economic healthcare engine downtown. Helping veterans is the unifying cause, but this is the perfect example of a project where doing the right thing will lift everybody up.” – Judy Zarrow Kishner, President, The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation

“We owe no greater debt than to the men and women who have put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms and I am glad to see funding for this project included in the appropriations package. Today is a step in the right direction to ensure our veterans get the quality, accessible health care they need. Building a new VA hospital in Tulsa and transforming the Muskogee VA into a specialty behavioral health facility will improve care for veterans across Eastern Oklahoma. I thank Senator Inhofe for his tireless leadership on this project and I look forward to seeing the new facilities.” – Senator Mullin

“Eastern Oklahoma is home to more than 115,000 veterans who deserve the best options for healthcare. After months of advocating for new construction, funding has finally been secured for the Department of Veterans Affairs to build a new VA hospital in Tulsa. This new state-of-the-art facility and behavioral health center will ensure our medical professionals and the community have the resources to provide quality care for our Oklahoma heroes.” – Senator Lankford

“The Oklahoma Veterans Council is pleased to see that the VA Hospital is included in the MilCon VA Appropriations Bill for FY 2021. This hospital will not only provide exceptional service in the heart of our largest market it will also stand as a testament to what we can accomplish as a community when we work together for the benefit of our veterans.” – Pete Peterson, Chairman of the Oklahoma Veterans Council

“Our Veterans in northeast Oklahoma deserve a much-needed, easily accessible modern medical center where they can receive quality, compassionate care in a timely manner. For OSU-CHS, it’s been a great privilege to be part of this visionary project. While caring for veterans is a top priority, the affiliation with the Veteran Affairs Hospital near our Tulsa campus will benefit our students and residents tremendously and further enhance our medical school nationally. Many physicians in practice today benefited from training at a Veteran Affairs hospital. As we see it, making sure our Veterans receive the very best care is the least we can do to honor them for their devoted service to our country. After years of hard work and relentless determination by many civic leaders in Tulsa and local, state, and federal elected officials, we have achieved one of the most significant milestones, the funding for this project. We look forward to the start of construction and the completion of the project.” – Dr. Kayse Shrum, President, Oklahoma State University

“After years of work, I am glad we were able to fully fund the Tulsa Veterans Hospital this week,” Inhofe said. “This is the first step to modernizing veterans care in Eastern Oklahoma and we will build upon it by developing a state-of-the-art behavioral health center in Muskogee while maintaining outpatient services. Oklahoma veterans have sacrificed a great deal for our country and it is one of my top priorities to ensure they get the care they deserve and have earned.” – Senator Jim Inhofe

“We are extremely grateful for the strong support received from U.S. Senators James Inhofe and James Lankford along with U.S. Representatives Markwayne Mullin and Kevin Hern. Our VA team set a goal with the state of Oklahoma, City of Tulsa, The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation, and Oklahoma State University and we achieved it. I am so impressed with the collaboration in the name of America’s heroes. This is a huge win for Veterans of Eastern Oklahoma who deserve nothing less than the best possible care.” – Ralph Gigliotti, (Retired) Former Director of the VA Rocky Mountain Network

“Our veterans deserve the best care,” said Governor Kevin Stitt. “I’m grateful that U.S. Senators Inhofe and Lankford, private funders, OSU Medicine, the City of Tulsa and the State of Oklahoma came together to support the new VA hospital in Tulsa. This is another example of how public-private partnerships can make true and lasting change for the Oklahomans who faithfully served our state and country.” – Governor Stitt

VA Hospital in Tulsa: Background and Timeline

• For years, Oklahoma’s elected officials, namely U.S. Senator James Inhofe, have advocated for improvements in hospital care for Oklahoma veterans. In 2018 the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledged this need and posted specifications for a new 58-bed medical-surgical hospital in Oklahoma.

• In December of 2018, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences submitted a formal request to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Construction and Facilities Management for a Partnership Opportunity via the CHIP-IN for Veterans Act of 2016.

• The OSU application was accompanied by endorsements from Sen. Inhofe, Sen. Lankford, Rep. Hern, Rep. Mullin (now Sen. Mullin), as well as: 1) a commitment from the state of Oklahoma to transfer the Kerr Edmondson Buildings and property to OSU/A&M Regents for the benefit of Oklahoma veterans and 2) a philanthropic commitment of $10 million toward hospital construction.

• The OSU application made the case that repurposing the Kerr-Edmondson Buildings and property to serve Oklahoma veterans directly is not only a service to our veterans, but also meets a compelling state interest by leveraging the medical education resources of OSU Center for Health Sciences and the OSU Medical Center to expand dramatically the medical education opportunities for future Oklahoma physicians.

• In late 2019, the city of Tulsa approved $8 million as part of the Improve Our Tulsa bond package for a 436-space parking structure on the Kerr-Edmondson site that will support the new Veterans Hospital in Tulsa.

• In February 2020, the FY 2021 Presidential Budget submitted to Congress included $120 million in federal appropriation for construction of a Veterans Hospital in Tulsa (VHiT). Additional funds were also identified for equipping and staffing a new veterans hospital in Tulsa once constructed.

• In May of 2020, with the passing of HB4139, the Oklahoma legislature formalized its commitment to transfer the Kerr-Edmondson property to the OSU/A&M Regents for the Oklahoma Veterans Inpatient Facility in Tulsa. Oklahoma Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson were critical in vetting and advancing what the Veterans Administration accepted as a $35 million state commitment to the project.

• In 2020, The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation of Tulsa, having completed a recent 300,000 SF non-profit real estate development on the site of the former Dollar Thrifty Plaza, agreed to formalize VHiT LLC for the purpose of developing the VA Hospital in Tulsa.

• The appropriation of $120 million in federal funds was approved as part of the FY 2021 Appropriations Bill in December 2020.

• The VHiT project will convert the Kerr-Edmondson Buildings, located at 7th and Houston across from the OSU Center for Health Sciences Medical Center, into a modern 275,000 square-foot, 58-bed medical-surgical hospital for veterans.

• Once VHiT LLC has overseen completed construction of the hospital in compliance with a VA contract, the property will be transferred from OSU/A&M Regents to the U.S. Veterans Administration to be outfitted for operations.

• The hospital will be owned and operated by the U.S. Veterans Administration.

• The Eastern Oklahoma VA Healthcare System reports the start of a VA-driven planning and analysis effort to consider future use of the Jack C. Montgomery Medical Center in Muskogee. These efforts include consideration of expanding behavioral health, rehabilitation, and long-term care for veterans in Oklahoma and surrounding states.

• Preliminary planning for the Veterans Hospital in Tulsa was funded with private support to determine the hospital’s space programming, structural integrity, VA compliance, and construction cost. This early work was conducted by Dewberry as well as exterior design and rendering work by GH2 Architects. RFPs will be issued for project architectural and construction work in 2021.

• A groundbreaking was hosted in October 2021 where VHiT LLC Director, Courtney Knoblock, announced that Leo A. Daly and GH2 Architecture were selected for the architecture and design team.

• Demolition contractor DT Specialized Services was selected by the Veterans Hospital in Tulsa (VHiT) project team in late spring 2022. The privately developed Federal project underwent National Environmental Policy Act and Historical Preservation clearance prior to demolition which began in July 2022.

• Construction is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2023 with a construction completion date at the end of 2024. At that time the VA will take ownership of the locally constructed building and prepare it for onboarding and an opening to Veterans in 2025.

• Oklahoma’s federal congressional delegation worked diligently in 2022 to ensure Oklahoma’s veterans get the absolute best hospital care in spite of inflationary construction cost escalation occurring across the board in the United States. In late December the legal and financial approvals were paved to allow for an additional $31.2M in federal funding toward Tulsa’s new Veterans Hospital. This brought the total renovation budget for the new VA Hospital on the Oklahoma State University Academic Medical Campus to $171.2M, of which $151.2M will be federal construction dollars coming into Oklahoma.

• The project is the result of a collaboration among the federal government, state of Oklahoma, city of Tulsa, Tulsa County, private philanthropy, and Oklahoma State University, along with Oklahoma’s U.S. Senators James Inhofe and James Lankford, Oklahoma U.S. House of Representatives Markwayne Mullin and Kevin Hern and the Eastern Oklahoma VA Healthcare System.

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VHiT News and Updates

Learn more about the Veterans Hospital in Downtown Tulsa from selected news clips. Use the arrows to click through to older articles.

JAN 7, 2023

New Tulsa VA hospital gets additional $31.2 million

An additional $31.2 million is on its way to Tulsa’s new downtown Veterans Affairs hospital, according to VHiT, the nonprofit overseeing the project.

VHiT (Veterans Hospital in Tulsa) said Friday that the additional appropriation — made through last month’s $1.7 trillion omnibus bill and the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act — will offset unexpected construction costs.

“This new VA hospital has been a herculean effort by so many, and we had faith that our federal delegation would help increase funding to cover this unprecedented inflation,” VHiT Director Courtney Knoblock wrote in an email.

Veterans Hospital in Tulsa (VHiT)

VHiT LLC is a nonprofit vehicle for the development and construction of a new $171.2 million, 58-bed, Veterans Hospital in Tulsa.

VA Hospital by the numbers

Support for a Veterans Hospital in Tulsa

VA Hospital in Tulsa: Background and Timeline

VHiT News and Updates

JAN 7, 2023

New Tulsa VA hospital gets additional $31.2 million

JULY 26, 2022

Demolition begins on new Veterans Hospital in Tulsa

OCTOBER 30, 2021

New 58-bed Tulsa VA hospital scheduled to open in 2024

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Downtown Tulsa VA hospital attracting attention for collaboration

OCTOBER 15, 2021

New VA hospital breaks ground in Downtown Tulsa

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Tulsa VA medical complex to get $4 million from Tulsa County’s COVID relief allocation

JANUARY 24, 2021

New VA hospital for Tulsa fulfills a public and personal mission

JANUARY 3, 2021

OSU helps bring new veterans hospital to Tulsa

DECEMBER 31, 2020

$120 million in federal funding approved for new VA hospital in Tulsa

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Changes coming to Muskogee veterans hospital

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Funds approved for new VA hospital in Tulsa

DECEMBER 28, 2020

$120M Veterans Hospital To Be Built In Downtown Tulsa

DECEMBER 28, 2020

Funding approved for Tulsa’s VA hospital, set to open in 2024

DECEMBER 28, 2020

Construction to begin for Tulsa’s VA hospital after Congress approves funding

AUGUST 13, 2020

Sen. Inhofe ‘very, very proud’ of progress on new VA hospital in downtown Tulsa

FEBRUARY 11, 2020

Trump’s Proposed Budget Includes $120M for Veterans Hospital in Downtown Tulsa

FEBRUARY 11, 2020

$173 million Veterans Affairs hospital planned for downtown Tulsa

Gallery: Veterans Hospital in Tulsa Groundbreaking

VHiT Advisory Board

VHiT Funders

For more information about the Veterans Hospital in Tulsa:

Owners Rep

About VHiT Background and Structure

About OSU-CHS Medical Partnerships, Residencies