BRISTOW, Okla. — Bristow's local hospital is up and running again, but the city is still holding a special election on Jan. 9 on funding its upgrades.
City leaders are looking forward to several big projects in 2024, including its library park, a public pool, and a new wastewater treatment plant.
But there's one lagging issue it hopes its residents can resolve.
"Everything basically has been replaced. Every outlet, every sink, every light fixture, the HVAC, the floors, the walls. The only original part of that hospital are the bricks," Mayor Kris Wyatt said.
Mayor Wyatt said the next step is for city council to approve changing the label of a 2021 half-penny sales tax to allow the hospital to use its revenue for "operational purposes."
The original hope was to construct a new building, but both the city and the hospital's owner, Carrus Health, said costs and needs for that kept rising. By the start of 2024, Bristow already put more than $3 million into crucial improvements to the current building, which officially opened on Nov. 15.
"Making sure that we had everything in this building, it was for the paramount patient safety and bringing the best of health care to the community, was our number one goal," Carrus spokeswoman Jordyn Case told 2 News on Nov. 14.
However, to put the finishing touch on the plan, voters will have to have their say.
Wyatt admits she aches for the years-long saga to be over with the special election but said her priority is ensuring her city never becomes a healthcare desert again.
"Really, within city limits, you are never more than two miles away from virtually anything," she said. "So this is a huge, a huge asset to our city as it is to any city, particularly the rural communities."
Mayor Wyatt added the city will hold another public meeting to go over the proposition on Jan. 8 at 7 p.m.
Bristow residents can cast their vote on Jan. 5 from 8:00 in the morning to 6 p.m. and on Jan. 9 from 7:00 to 7:00.
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