The Oklahoma State Health Department is in Oklahoma City. Officials say the department faces a $30 million funding shortfall this year, which could grow if the agency has to repay some funding to the federal government. [Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman]

Oklahoma City — Susan Savage knows some ways to reduce the odds Oklahomans will end up in the hospital for preventable conditions.

Care coordinators who could help patients with their socioeconomic needs could go a long way, said Savage, CEO of Morton Comprehensive Health Services in Tulsa. So would offering medication-assisted treatment to people suffering from opioid addiction, she said.

But efforts to offer those services have stalled as health centers have to cope with uncertainty about their funding and cuts that seem to come from all directions, Savage said.

“If you fail to invest in the infrastructure, whatever your goal is, you're not going to be successful,” she said.