Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is disputing allegations that he complained to hospital officials about their employees doing media interviews on conditions of facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Frontier, which cites multiple sources with healthcare facilities and the governor's office.
Senior staff members at one hospital told The Frontier Mr. Stitt called the hospital president about recent news reports featuring hospital workers, and said he may have to issue a ban on elective surgeries if "fear mongering" about capacity issues didn't stop. A source in the governor's office and the Oklahoma Hospital Association also reported hearing about similar interactions between Oklahoma hospital leaders and the governor related to Mr. Stitt's frustration with media reports about challenging COVID-19 conditions.
But the governor disputes the allegations. In a Dec. 9 statement cited by news station KOKI, his office said the accounts of talks between Mr. Stitt and hospital leaders are not being portrayed accurately.
"The governor did not and has not expressed frustration with employees talking publicly about COVID-19 but rather the discrepancy in information between those messages and what was being reported to the state," the statement says. "The consistency of information has improved greatly over the past few weeks as hospital leaders are collaborating with their peers and the state at unprecedented levels."
Mr. Stitt's office also said it "do[es] not believe these discrepancies were intentional, but rather a representation of the complex and constantly changing data related to hospital staff and availability."
While Mr. Stitt previously mentioned the possibility of limiting elective surgeries to free up more hospital beds, there have also been many conversations with physicians and hospital leaders about the effects of such action and it "has not been actively considered for some time," the governor's office said.
Read the full Frontier article here.
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