MetaFund Provides Funds to Help Stillwater Medical Center Update Equipment
Media Release: April 4, 2022
Stillwater Medical Center (SMC) can move forward with a major equipment upgrade thanks in part to a recently provided New Markets Tax Credit allocation from the nonprofit MetaFund.
MetaFund provided the allotment of $15 million in tax credits allocation to SMC. The subsidy from these credits allows the project to close its capital gap, thus making the equipment modernization possible. The funds will go toward SMC’s replacement of lab, radiation, IT, and surgical equipment, some of which hasn’t been updated in 25 years.
“SMC is proud to have been awarded this allotment of NMTC’s to help us upgrade/replace our medical equipment that will enhance the care we give to our patients and will no doubt save lives,” said Alan Lovelace, SMC Chief Financial Officer. “MetaFund has been great to work with this and has provided help and support all the way through.”
SMC is an acute care general hospital serving patients across north central Oklahoma. Communities and counties in that area are considered medically underserved. The area also experiences persistent poverty with a poverty rate of about 39 percent. With the closing of six rural Oklahoma hospitals in recent years, SMC has grown from a community hospital to a full regional healthcare system. They boast more than 100 physicians and 30 specialties.
The proposed new equipment is expected to allow SMC to provide quality care to roughly 36,500 patients per year. SMC estimates that 22 percent of these patients are on Medicaid.
The project is consistent with MetaFund’s commitment to support health care centers providing quality care in medically underserved communities.
“MetaFund is proud to support Stillwater Medical Center through the NMTC program. They are a proven provider of accessible, quality healthcare as well as an economic driver for north-central Oklahoma,” said Blake Trippet, president of Metafund.
The SMC equipment upgrade will necessitate the creation of 51 full-time jobs with median wages of $28 per hour.
