Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy has opened the Kathryn Ann Meinders Digestive Health Institute on the campus of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City, establishing what the system describes as the only comprehensive digestive health center within a 500-mile radius of Oklahoma City.
According to a June 22 news release, the 52,000-square-foot, two-level facility includes seven procedure rooms, 21 prep and recovery rooms, an inflammatory bowel disease clinic, a hepatology clinic, a motility lab, and ambulatory GI care space. The institute opens to patients June 29.
“Simply put, this is a game changer for digestive health for patients not only in Oklahoma but across the region,” said Sanjay Sikka, MD, Mercy’s chief physician executive for gastroenterology across its five-state footprint. Hussein Bitar, MD, Mercy’s gastroenterology section chief in Oklahoma City, said the institute would simplify care for patients managing complex digestive conditions.
Mercy plans to hire three additional physicians within the first year. The $52 million project was funded in part by a $10 million gift from Oklahoma City philanthropist Herman Meinders, whose family has contributed more than $26 million to Mercy since 2018. The institute is named for Mr. Meinders’ late daughter, Kathryn Ann, who died in 2008.
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