In addition to taking on Native American tribes, disregarding a global pandemic, and leading an awful state rebrand, one of Stitt's weirdest decisions as Governor has been his dogged determination to sabotage the state medical lab, highlighted by the moronic decision to move the facility from its home in OKC to a trailer park in Stillwater.
The move, which was opposed by most healthcare officials, laboratory workers and others who aren't rubish morons who disregard the advice and opinions of experts in their respective fields in order to win brownie points with grifters and cronies, has worked out about as well as you'd expect:
Via The Frontier:
Lab workers and other observers sounded the alarm long before federal regulators found that Oklahoma’s Public Health Lab had mishandled COVID-19 samples and had critical staffing shortages.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that the facility failed to properly store and test COVID-19 samples according to the lab’s own guidelines, and didn’t employ enough staff to handle testing volume, according to a report released Tuesday. The agency began an investigation of the laboratory in September after a complaint.
Fun fact! Before I made this stupid website my full-time job 11 years ago, I was the Marketing and Communications Manager for Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma. I did such a good job that they still use the "About Us" copy I wrote 12 years ago for their website.
Anyway, around the time I was laid off, the company had just started construction on a new core medical lab near Broadway Extension and Britton because we had outgrown our facilities in an industrial park near I-40 and Meridian. At the time, I remember some executives and staff voicing concerns that the new facility was 10 - 15 minutes farther away from Will Rogers World Airport than the old lab.
Knowing that, there had to be some people complaining about Stitt moving the State Medical Lab to a trailer park 75 miles away from the airport, right?
The answer is yes...
Lawmakers, medical groups and lab employees criticized the decision to move the lab away from Oklahoma City’s biomedical hub amid the pandemic and without legislative oversight. The Stitt administration says the move will bolster the state’s rural medical capabilities and bring new investment to the area.
Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, spoke out early on against moving the Public Health Lab and wanted to block the transition during the last legislative session. He’s not surprised there have been problems after the move.
“When there is not a good plan and things happen abruptly, these are the kinds of things that happen,” Martinez said. “I think that we should have had a longer conversation and a more thorough process of planning.”
Once again, I know I'm not a putzy politician who totally disregards public health measures in order to appease the good old network, but why would a Governor disregard and overrule experts in a field he knows nothing about??? Wait. I think I answered my own question.
Anyway, I guess we should congratulate Kevin Stitt on his very blatant and curious attempt to sabotage the state medical lab. I think most people figured it would take at least a couple of years before he'd screw things up to the point that the feds would have to investigate it, but give Kevin Stitt credit. When he wants to ruin something in state government, he doesn't waste any time.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We'll keep you advised.
