Stillwater Medical's Emergency Room is where compassion meets crisis. It’s the front line of care—the place we turn when life takes an unexpected turn. And for thousands of families each year, it's where healing begins. But the truth is, the emergency room is stretched far beyond its limits. It was built to handle 26,000 visits per year, and today we're seeing more than 33,000. That's over 7,000 additional visits–without a single new room added. Each room now sees over 1,700 patients every year, putting immense strain on space, staff, and resources.
Stillwater Population: 51,000+
OSU'S Largest Freshman Class (2025): 5,100+
Emergency Rooms: 15
Homecoming Walkaround: 80,000+
Mid-South Bike Race: 3,500+
Emergency Rooms: 15
McKnight Center Events: 1,000+
Boys From Oklahoma: 180,000+
Emergency Rooms: 15
Did you know?
When an ambulance brings a patient to the emergency room, the paramedics and first responders in that ambulance cannot leave the patient’s side until they have been admitted to a room.
Which means not only a longer wait time for an already crowded waiting room, but also... until the patient has a room, that ambulance isn’t available to respond to any other emergencies in Stillwater or the surrounding communities they serve.
The last emergency room renovation was in 2006.
Stillwater's Population Has Grown 10.9% in Just 9 Years.
"The community is growing and that's one of the things that we have to realize as a city is that our community's identity is that we are this regional hub. It has that small-town feel, but it's anything but a small town anymore..."
"Live music on the weekends, people hosting different festivals... We're seeing this incredible growth."
- Brady Moore, City Manger, Stillwater
STILL STRONG EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT EDUCATION ENDOWMENT
Established by Vance & Lori Hunter, The Still Strong Emergency Department Education Endowment fuels ongoing training, simulation, and certifications that keep our ER team at the forefront of lifesaving care for Stillwater and the surrounding communities. Your generosity sustains this vital program and directly strengthens patient outcomes.
To learn more or contribute, please contact Michal Shaw at michalshaw@stillwater-medical.org or Joe Akin at jakin@stillwater-medical.org.
When an emergency strikes, none of us are immune.
The emergency room doesn’t discriminate. We see everyone from all walks of life–the young, the old, visitors from out of town, and families who’ve lived here for generations. When an emergency strikes, none of us are immune. Stillwater is growing—and our hospital must grow with it.
"The scope of that [OSU Homecoming Parade tragedy] was something that we never imagined we would see in Stillwater. But it should tell you something about our hospital when our hospital decides not to send a single bill to a patient that was served in our hospital from that event. And I don't know that a lot of people knew that."
"For this effort, for the emergency department, for the citizens of Stillwater... it is better to be able to look forward and be thankful that we have contributed to this effort than to look back and wish that we had made a difference. And for that, I think we will all benefit."
– Scott Petty, Stillwater Medical Foundation Executive Director, Retired