The Edmond Sun

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January 16, 2012

Devon Energy donates $2 million for eye institute campaign

The Edmond Sun

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Dean McGee Eye Institute recently announced a $2 million gift from Devon Energy Corp., completing the $46 million capital campaign to fund the institute’s new world-class research and clinical facility that was dedicated last fall. This brings Devon’s total contribution to this effort to $2.5 million.

“Devon Energy’s extraordinary closing gift places an exclamation mark on a long and prestigious list of Oklahoma corporations, foundations, organizations and individuals who have invested their resources in the Dean McGee Eye Institute,” said Dr. Gregory Skuta, president and CEO of the Dean McGee Eye Institute and Edward L. Gaylord Professor and chairman of the OU College of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology. “The Devon gift is historic for the eye institute, as it finalizes this capital campaign and ensures that Oklahoma has access to the institute’s state-of-the-art medical and surgical eye care now and in the future.”

A new, five-story, 78,000-square-foot facility, which was completed in 2011, is connected to the original 70,000-square-foot building at 608 Stanton L. Young Blvd. That space, dedicated in 1975, is now undergoing extensive renovation.  

“We are delighted to contribute to the completion of this major building project,” said Devon Executive Chairman Larry Nichols. “The institute’s commitment to advancing eye care in Oklahoma is remarkable, and this facility will allow for continuous improvement in patient care, teaching and research. We are honored to help bring the Institute’s vision to fruition.”

Renovations will upgrade patient examination rooms, research space and an administrative floor. This final phase of construction should be complete by late 2012.    

The expanded facility has allowed the institute and the OU Department of Ophthalmology to bring all of its Oklahoma Health Center clinics, procedure rooms, laboratories and educational and administrative functions under one roof, doubling the research space and increasing clinical capacity by 40 percent.  

The institute’s clinical and surgical teams provide more than 150,000 patient visits (both adult and children) in addition to 7,000 surgical procedures each year. Dean McGee Eye Institute physicians and scientists are internationally respected and have numerous leadership positions in major professional and scientific organizations.

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