Oklahoma City resident David Green, founder of Hobby Lobby, saved Oral Roberts University with a massive cash infusion, even though he had no prior affiliation with that university. Even if it’s a religious school, had ORU folded (which was looking quite likely), it would have had a tremendous impact on Tulsa.

Re: OSU Medical Center funding. Has it occurred to you that maybe this small, relatively poor state can’t afford to fund two public teaching hospitals to the effect of $60 million a year? On top of that, OSU’s “medical school” is not a real medical school, they teach Osteopathic Medicine, an outdated system of healing that is quickly going away.

Did you know that the OU School of Medicine has greatly expanded their presence at OU-Tulsa and will soon be launching a residency program in Internal Medicine? I bet you didn’t.

As far as Tulsa not having a publicly funded graduate university, again another history lesson is in order. When the Oklahoma legislature was looking for a place to put a land-grant university, several places turned them flat down, including the Sand Springs/Tulsa area. They finally started the school in Payne County that would eventually become Oklahoma State University. Tulsa (more accurately the Tulsa area) definitely had a chance to have that school nearby, but for whatever reason, they decided not to pursue it. Who knows the reasoning – things were different 110+ years ago and they may have had a perfectly legit reason why they decided no. But its not as if Tulsa was just intentionally shut out of the Public University Picture.

Tulsans are funny sometimes. They brag about how self-sufficient they are, then complain when no one helps them. Can’t have it both ways folks. I think the powers that be in Tulsa are clueing into that, judging on the legislature finally passing funds for the OSU Medical Center. On that issue Tulsa I wholeheartly agree. It’s a complete travesty that an adequately-funded public hospital has been missing in Tulsa. That problem needs a permanent governmental fix. Hopefully this is a start in the right direction.

Glad you brought that up, Chad. Unlike the capital city, Tulsa does not have a state-funded hospital. Never have, and if the legislature is left to their own devices, we never will…”

Everett, you quoted the wrong person entirely. That wasn’t me.

From this end of the turnpike I do sometimes get envious of what is happening in and around downtown OKC… I think part of that is that when you live here in Tulsa, developments and such seem to go so slowly and you dont notice that we too are improving. Though a bit behind, there is a lot of stuff going on around town, just not perhaps as concentrated as OKC.

Plus, I think Tulsans should be proud of the choices they have made. We havent passed a MAPS and gotten as many “fancy, flashy toys”. BUT we have spent some bucks on some important neccessities. I think TCC is one of the largest JR Colleges in this region of the country. We Tulsans pay for most of that. We have also decided to spend some money on getting other educational facilities and campuses going in Tulsa ( I count Tulsa county when comparing Tulsa to OKC, for even everything in Tulsa county would be smaller in land size thant he city of OKC)… OSU Tulsa, OU Tulsa, NSU Broken Arrow, Langston, Tulsa Tech… Those are fantastic additions to our city. Not flashy things like a canal, but something to be equally proud of in my opinion. These things will pay off in time.

Though this does bring up one of Tulsas gripes lol. Up until recently Tulsa was one of the largest cities in the US without a publicly funded, graduate university. OKC has had the teaching hospital and the nearby college in Norman. NSU Tulsa is the same distance from downtown Tulsa as the college in Norman is from downtown OKC. I cant help but think how things would have been different here if so many people, for so long, didnt have to move away in order to advance in their careers by taking graduate courses, or just finish college in general. Had a friend not long ago that had to consider leaving Tulsa, his friends, his job, an ailing mother, home, etc. because there werent the available graduate courses anywhere nearby. I have had friends who in the past, and even today to some extent, who in order to move up in their company or career needed to take certain courses… they werent available in or around Tulsa. So they ended up moving their careers to other cities that did have nearby colleges. Companies have often left for the same reason.

Recently we have wanted to expand and grow our fledgling new universities and heck just keep open the teaching hospital and medical center. When I go to the Medical COMPLEX in OKC and to the college in Norman, I see many buildings, programs, endowments, etc. with Tulsans names on them. When Tulsa was doing well, even though we had needs, Tulsans chipped in and helped build those colleges and the medical campus. Doubt any OKC person would even have a clue to how much we have given to those things, or give a hoot. Where are the wealthy people of OKC chipping in to build stuff here in Tulsa to help us out when we need it? Reminds me a bit of that dinner conversation described above when the person in OKC mentioned…. ” and they simply don’t even talk about Tulsa much at all.” That pretty much sums it up.” Indeed they dont. How many people in OKC have donated a building, a program, to a museum, a hospital, to the needy and poor etc. etc. here? I remember many wealthy Tulsans and even average people donating to the History Museum there in OKC. Sure its the state museum. But where were was anyone in OKC when we were struggling to build and save the History Museum here?

Its seems we have to fight tooth and nail for everything. Plus the people of OKC dont ever acknowledge our contributions, if they think of us at all. Plus they rarely, if ever, seem to reach out and donate to or support us. Yea it sounds whiny. But still there it is. Each thing may be something small and seem to be no big deal. But they keep adding up, year after year, decade after decade and you start to feel like the youngest sibling who gets the hand me downs. Yet, we do all right here.

In the end, I think it would be nice, on occasion, to hear a thank you for our contributions there. To have the people of OKC occasionally think about us, to donate and lend a hand to some of the things we care about or need as we have done in the past for them. Not complain that we are whining lol.

Glad you brought that up, Chad. Unlike the capital city, Tulsa does not have a state-funded hospital. Never have, and if the legislature is left to their own devices, we never will.

OSUMC was due to close it’s doors at the end of the year, but for a collaboration between the city, county, Kaiser Family Foundation, St. John’s Hospital, and St. Francis Hospital. Though appreciated, state-funding is a relatively small and diminishing piece of the equation. It’s nowhere near the $60 mill a year you get for your public hospital.

The crises was averted for now, thank god. But this is how it goes in this state: OKC gets a state-funded public hospital, Tulsa has to cobble together a facsimile using private funding and legislative table scraps.

It’s easy to get upset, and justifiable.