Bill seen as threat to independence of health departments By: Paul Monies Oklahoma Watch March 10, 2021
ICU nurse Erica Arrocha talks with Gov. Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma State Commissioner of Health Dr. Lance Frye before administering the state’s first COVID-19 vaccine at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City on Dec. 14, 2020. (Photo by Whitney Bryen/Oklahoma Watch)
Local board members in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties are casting a skeptical eye at a House bill that would give the state health commissioner a voice on their local governing boards and veto authority over any future picks for executive directors.
House Bill 2504, by state Rep. Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City, would give the state’s health commissioner one appointment on the nine-member governing boards of the independently run Oklahoma City-County Health Department and the Tulsa Health Department.
Inpatient beds occupied: 50.8
Percent of inpatient beds used: 98.07%
Percent of inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 26.06%
All adult ICU beds: 9.5
ICU beds occupied: 9.5
Percent of ICU beds used: 100.00%
Percent of ICU beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 49.47%
INTEGRIS SOUTHWEST MEDICAL CENTER
All adult inpatient beds: 250
Inpatient beds occupied: 197.2
Percent of inpatient beds used: 78.88%
Percent of inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 6.68%
All adult ICU beds: 25
ICU beds occupied: 25
Percent of ICU beds used: 100.00%
Percent of ICU beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: N/A
LAKESIDE WOMEN S HOSPITAL, A MEMBER OF INTEGRIS HE
Erica Arrocha, who has been a nurse for almost 18 years, works at the Integris Baptist Medical Center’s Portland Avenue campus, which is solely for COVID-19 patients.