Why are you building this hospital when there is already one in town?
Our research shows that there is much more demand for health services in Muskogee than the existing hospital has the capacity to meet. Rather than driving to another city, local citizens will be able to remain in Muskogee and receive world class care.

What will be different about Muskogee Community Hospital?
The Muskogee Community Hospital is designed to provide exceptionally safe patient care while delivering excellent customer service to patients, families, and guests. This wonderful care environment will also allow Muskogee Community Hospital to provide employees with a great place to work and physicians with a terrific place to provide the best of medical care. This is possible because physicians have been involved from the very beginning in the design of the facility, and will be actively engaged in the management of the hospital on an ongoing basis. These dedicated physicians are committed to using a high- tech, service-oriented approach to the delivery of care.

Why did you pick the name Muskogee Community Hospital?
We live here and we are part of the community. The name was chosen to reflect our commitment to our families, friends, and neighbors.

Who will own and operate the hospital?
The hospital is a partnership between local physicians, a small group of business individuals, and the company which will administer the facility, Healthcare Management Directions, Inc. The hospital will operate as a general acute care hospital under the rules and regulations of the State of Oklahoma and the United States Federal Government.

Why did you pick the particular location?
In order to develop the hospital and a campus of medical office buildings, a significant amount of land was needed. The land immediately north of the Muskogee city limits provided the amount of space needed. It will also allow easy access for patients, employees and physicians.

What services will you provide? What major services will you not provide?
Muskogee Community Hospital will be a general acute care hospital providing medical and surgical services for patients requiring overnight stays and for outpatients. In addition, the hospital will provide a full range of diagnostic services including laboratory tests, endoscopy, MRI, CT, ultrasound, mammography, and radiology. Surgical services will include general; orthopedic; ear, nose and throat; urology; neurosurgery; and gynecology. The hospital will have an emergency department.

Which physicians will be practicing at this facility?
The final list of physicians who will practice at Muskogee Community Hospital will be completed just prior to opening. The hospital will have physicians from the service categories of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, gastroenterology, ear nose and throat, general surgery, neurosurgery, gynecology, anesthesia, and urology.

Will you have an ER? How long will your wait times be?
We will have an Emergency Department. The wait times will be dependant upon the volume and severity of the emergencies being seen at any given time. The Emergency Department will be engineered to provide time-efficient services to the patients.

Will you take care of Medicare and Medicaid patients?
Muskogee Community Hospital will seek approval from the federal government to provide services for patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

What other kinds of insurance will you take?
Muskogee Community Hospital will work to contract with all insurance companies providing coverage to the individuals of Muskogee and the surrounding communities.

Will you provide charity care?
Yes. Muskogee Community Hospital will provide medical services for any patient referred or admitted to the Hospital by any physician with privileges to use the facility, whether the patient is insured or uninsured. In the case of emergency, the hospital will render appropriate care to patients, whether insured or uninsured.

When will the hospital be open?
We anticipate opening the hospital early in 2009.

When will you start employing people? How can I apply?
The hospital will begin employing its staff approximately two to four months before opening. We will advertise prominently in the community when we begin to hire.

Is there anything else planned to go on the site?
The campus will have medical office buildings for physician offices and other medical services.

I've heard Muskogee Community Hospital called a "green" hospital. What does that mean?
Muskogee Community Hospital is being constructed using the principles of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. LEED guidelines promote design and construction practices that protect the environment. During construction great care will be taken to prevent negative impact on water, soil, and wildlife. Once operational, the hospital is designed to operate with energy and water efficiency. For example, the heating and cooling for Muskogee Community Hospital will be handled by a non-polluting geothermal system which uses the earth's heating and cooling to manage the temperature of the building. Additionally, we anticipate saving numerous trees through the use of an electronic medical record rather than paper charts.