By Daniel Lapham/Staff writer

El Reno residents can expect more without having to leave town with the opening of Parkview Hospital’s new Out Patient Specialty Clinic.

The 5,000 square foot clinic opened at the end of June. The clinic has a waiting room, four new exam rooms, a recovery and pain clinic, a doctor’s office, a mini surgery suite and a scope procedure room, said hospital administrator Lex Smith.

“I can’t believe the class of that place. It’s something else,” said Vice-Mayor Glen Nichols.

Construction on the $400,000 outpatient clinic began last year. The clinic will provide El Reno patients specialty services, including cardiology, urology, pain management, dermatology, neurology and oncology.
“We are so excited to be able to offer this to our patients,” Smith said.

Smith said the outpatient clinic, which is planned to double as an after-hours minor care center, is a part of the hospitals strategic plan developed in 2003.

“We are making arrangements to update the strategic plan this fall as a part of the study Community Partners is planning at the end of this month,” Smith said.

In addition to the new specialty clinic the hospital has completely remodeled its 48 patient rooms, updated equipment and facilities for its radiology and CT Scan area and the rehab, occupational and physical therapy area.

“Frankly, we knew there was a hospital going in over in Yukon and we knew we had to update our facilities,” said Michael Compton, Parkview Board trustee.

“We are welcoming five new physicians to the specialty clinic,” Smith said.

Cardiologist Sandeep Chopra and Pulmonologist Mubina Gaffar will come over from Saint Anthony’s every other week, Orthopedists Joel Frazier and Joseph Grillo will be in the office twice a month from Orthopedic Institute, and Neurologist Juan Villazon from Altus Neurology will be in the clinic twice a month.

Smith has projected the opening of the new clinic combined with additional services, a new fulltime family physician expected later this year and increased room rates at Parkview will boost hospital revenue by 22 percent. A freeze in the hiring of non-critical personnel as well as a salary and wage freeze also factored into the projections.