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Cost Overrun at the Donahue Behavioral Health Center

The Donahue Behavioral Health Center in Oklahoma City is encountering a substantial cost overrun. The initial estimate of $150 million did not include furniture, equipment, and the need to redesign bathrooms from hallways to individual rooms. This has led to a request for an additional $125 million to complete the project. Lawmakers and state officials broke ground in March with the expectation of completion by 2026, but now it may be pushed back to 2028. Multiple factors such as inflation have contributed to the higher costs. In 2022, when lawmakers vetted the project, they anticipated making $50 million from the sale of land at the aging Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman. However, that has now dropped to $10 million due to soft demand and possible building remediation costs. Former leaders at the agency failed to include these costs in the initial project estimates. Mental Health Commissioner Allie Friesen took over in January and is now dealing with these challenges.

The original design had bathrooms in hallways, which raised concerns about certification. The agency's new leaders worried that if bathrooms were not in patient rooms, the facility might not meet certification requirements. Safety concerns and additional costs are associated with moving patients from their rooms to hallways and back. Agencies had to submit their budget requests by Oct. 1, and the updated information has been submitted to legislators. Friesen alerted lawmakers of a possible shortfall in May, and discussions continued throughout the summer. The Legislature committed $87 million in federal pandemic relief funds in 2022, with the rest of the funding coming from the sale of Griffin land. The 200,000-square-foot Donahue Center is set to replace the 1890s-era Griffin, which is the state's largest behavioral health hospital. The bed count may be slightly reduced due to the need for bathrooms in patient rooms.

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Ongoing Discussions and Future Plans

Speaker-Elect Kyle Hilbert stated that discussions about the shortfall are ongoing. Increasing mental health capacity in the state is a priority for the House, and they are working with the Senate and the Department of Mental Health to understand the needs and find ways to meet them. They have publicly discussed the known funding gap and are working within the constraints of the available funding. With the delay in opening Donahue, Hall expects the Department of Mental Health to continue using Griffin in Norman. Temporary private treatment beds may also be needed. Hall emphasized the need to be responsive to the need but cannot make a decision to fill the funding gap without going through the legislative process.

Paul Monies, a reporter with Oklahoma Watch since 2017, covers state agencies and public health. You can contact him at (571) 319-3289 or pmonies@oklahomawatch.org. Follow him on Twitter @pmonies.