About Saint Anthony hospital · Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital – Oklahoma City is a 773-bed tertiary-care Catholic hospital in Midtown Oklahoma City. Founded in 1898 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville, Missouri, it is the oldest hospital in the state of Oklahoma and was the first hospital in the Oklahoma Territory. Today it is one of 19 hospitals operated by SSM Health, a not-for-profit Roman Catholic health system, and its ministries extend across central Oklahoma through outpatient clinics and five Healthplex campuses. The hospital is home to a Catholic chapel that serves patients, families, staff, and visitors with daily Mass and 24-hour pastoral care.
- Established
- 1898
- Patron
- St. Anthony (of Padua)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
Why belong here
Although St. Anthony is a hospital rather than a parish, the Catholic chapel on the second floor — near the West Lee Avenue entrance — welcomes patients, families, staff, and neighbors to daily Mass and quiet prayer. Daily noon Mass Monday through Friday, plus a 4:00 PM Saturday Vigil and 10:00 AM Sunday Mass (also observed on holidays), makes the sacraments easily accessible to anyone in the hospital or the surrounding Midtown neighborhood. Chaplains of all faith backgrounds are on call, and patients' own priests, ministers, or rabbis are always welcome to visit, making the chapel a pastoral hub for central Oklahoma.
Mass times at Saint Anthony hospital
Weekly Mass schedule
History of SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital – Oklahoma City
Founded August 1, 1898, by the Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville, Missouri, St. Anthony Hospital opened in two rented houses at 219 N.W. 4th Street with just 12 beds — the first hospital in the Oklahoma Territory. A larger 25-bed brick facility followed on November 23, 1899, on the same Midtown site the hospital occupies today. Over more than 125 years the campus has grown from a single city block to a 773-bed tertiary care hospital, integrated emergency response hub, and a key part of SSM Health, a 19-hospital Catholic health system.
- 1898: Opened August 1 in two rented houses — 12 beds total — at 219 N.W. 4th Street.
- 1899: Moved to a new 25-bed brick building just outside Oklahoma City limits (current site).
- 1900: First telephones installed (annual bill $22.65); electricity, natural gas and a water well followed within a few years.
- 1922: Sister Beatrice Merrigan becomes the nation's first certified X-ray technician.
- 1995: First hospital to receive victims of the Oklahoma City bombing; treated 153 patients that day.
- 2004: Leadership commits to staying in Midtown and invests ~$220 million in the campus and neighborhood.
- 1987: Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville merge with the Sisters of St. Mary to form the Franciscan Sisters of Mary.
- 2013: Sponsorship of SSM Health transfers from the Franciscan Sisters of Mary to SSM Health Ministries.
Catholic Identity and the Sisters of St. Francis
St. Anthony Hospital is rooted in the Catholic healing ministry of the Sisters of St. Francis, who brought it into being as part of their mission of caring for the sick regardless of ability to pay. The hospital today is one of 19 facilities operated by SSM Health, a not-for-profit Roman Catholic health system that traces its heritage to five German sisters arriving in St. Louis in 1872 with five dollars among them. Sponsorship of SSM Health now rests with SSM Health Ministries, a public juridic person, while the Franciscan mission of compassionate care continues as the hospital's spiritual backbone.
- Founded by Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville, Missouri
- Part of SSM Health, a Catholic non-profit system
- Pastoral care serving people of all faiths
- Hospital chapel open to patients, families, staff, and neighbors
Chapel & Spiritual Care
The hospital chapel is located on the second floor near the West Lee Avenue entrance and is open for worship and prayer for everyone. Chaplains from the pastoral care staff minister to patients of all faiths, offering spiritual guidance and counseling, and patients' own priests, ministers, or rabbis are always welcome to visit.
- Chapel location: 2nd floor, near the West Lee Avenue entrance
- Pastoral care phone: 405-272-6220, Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
- Emergency sacramental need: dial '0' for the hospital operator
- Chaplains available to patients of all faiths
Sacraments Available to Patients and Visitors
Daily Mass ensures the Eucharist is readily available throughout the week, and the pastoral care team coordinates with local clergy to bring other sacraments to inpatients. Visitors' own priests, ministers, or rabbis are always welcome to come to the bedside.
- Eucharist: at every Mass (see schedule)
- Pastoral care / chaplaincy referrals: 405-272-6220
- Outside-clergy visits welcomed at the bedside
Hospital Services and Specialties
As a 773-bed tertiary care hospital, SSM Health St. Anthony offers a wide range of medical and surgical programs including cardiology, oncology, neurology, behavioral medicine, surgery, and kidney transplantation, along with a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It is a Forbes Top Hospital and a certified DNV Comprehensive Stroke Center, with an advanced structural heart disease program delivered through the affiliated Saints Heart and Vascular Institute.
- Cardiology and structural heart program
- Oncology
- Neurology and certified Comprehensive Stroke Center (DNV)
- Behavioral medicine
- Surgery (general and specialty)
- Kidney transplantation
- Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Heritage Museum and the 1899 Cornerstone
A small museum inside the hospital's west entrance at 1000 N. Lee Ave. traces more than a century of Catholic health care in Oklahoma. Among its artifacts are donated medical equipment from across the decades, historic photographs, and — most striking — the original cornerstone from the 1899 brick hospital that still stands in the building's lobby.
- Museum location: just inside the west entrance, 1000 N. Lee Ave.
- Original 1899 cornerstone on display
- Donated medical equipment and historical photographs
Community Role and the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing
St. Anthony Hospital sits just blocks from the site of the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and remains a defining institution in the city's history. On the day of the attack the hospital was the first to receive patients and ultimately treated 153 victims; most of its windows were shattered by the blast, yet staff and physicians from across the city mobilized to help. The hospital's enduring presence in Midtown, secured in 2004 with a roughly $220 million campus and neighborhood investment, is a continuing commitment to the community it was founded to serve.
- First hospital to receive bombing victims on April 19, 1995
- Treated 153 patients that day
- Located about eight blocks from the former Murrah Building site
- 2004 decision to remain in Midtown with ~$220 million in reinvestment