Banner Health expanding its presence in E.V.

The East Valley will see the debut of several Banner Health expansion projects this fall, including a children's hospital tower, an expanded emergency department and one-of-a-kind nurses training center, all in Mesa.

In all, Banner has invested more than $230 million on Cardon Children's Medical Center at Banner Desert Medical Center, $38.5 million on an expanded emergency department at Banner Baywood Medical Center and $11 million on Banner Simulation Medical Center on the former Banner Mesa hospital campus.

"Obviously Banner has a lot of confidence and is very optimistic about the Mesa community," said Mesa Mayor Scott Smith. "Mesa probably has more Banner investment than any other place in the (hospital) system by far ... and it just shows that Banner confirmed what we've been saying. Mesa has a great future, and there's a lot of opportunity here."

Banner is Mesa's largest private employer, with more than 7,500 employees at Banner Desert, Cardon Children's, Banner Corporate Center, Banner Baywood and Banner Heart Hospital.

"There's thousands of Mesans who are working at Banner, and there are scores of Mesa businesses that are doing business with Banner and providing services to Banner, and Banner's health facilities provide a great service to Mesa and East Valley residents," Smith said.

In about two weeks, the first class of nurses will begin their two-week training at Banner Simulation Medical Center. The 55,000-square-foot simulation center is in the final stages of completion.

With mannequins as patients, the center will provide a "real hospital scenario where nurses would be taking care of potentially five patients at a time on a unit, just like you would on a regular hospital floor," said Nancy Neff, director of public relations for Banner Desert Medical Center and Banner Arizona East Region.

"We will be training up to 1,800 nurses per year," she said. "These will be our new hires."

On Oct. 1, Banner Baywood's new emergency department will open with 54 private rooms. The 54,000-square-foot facility will be twice the size of the existing emergency department, which is 25 years old.

"Banner Baywood has always provided excellent medical care, and now we're going to have a facility to match that," said Dr. Frank Benes, medical director of the emergency department. "Our emergency room now is outdated, and it's very congested. We have curtains between most of the rooms, so it's a noisy place, and we'll be moving into this new, grandiose place that has private rooms. It will be much better for the patients and their families."

Banner Baywood already has increased its staff in anticipation of moving into the new department, he said. The hospital is expecting a roughly 15 percent increase in ER patient volume just because the facility is new, he said.

"Technology wise ... we're going to have a CT scanner, a radiology room for plain X-rays, and ultrasound, all within the emergency department, so we don't have to take those patients and transport them over to radiology, have them wait over there in a waiting room or whatever until they're next in line, and then bring them back," Benes said. "We'll be controlling the patient flow so we can keep the patients comfortable in their rooms while they're waiting for their turn for their scan. There's efficiency, plus more comfort for the patient."

"We're staffed for 170 patients a day right from the start, so we'll be ready to go," Benes said.

On Nov. 2, Cardon Children's Medical Center will open its seven-story tower to expand pediatric capacity and services. The hospital will expand from 137 beds to a total of 248 beds, with the capability of adding a second tower for a total of 368 beds.

"We know Cardon Children's Medical Center will make a difference in the lives of countless children and their families," said Peter Fine, Banner Health president and CEO. "Its opening will offer a new option for outstanding pediatric care that is desperately needed by the Valley's growing population."

Among the 248 beds, the new tower will expand Cardon Children's neonatal intensive care unit from 65 to 104 beds and connect it with Banner Desert to be readily accessible to the hospital's labor and delivery department, which includes high-risk pregnancies and multiple birth situations.

The pediatric emergency department will expand from 15 to 26 beds, plus up to 16 more adjacent beds in an outpatient treatment area that will be made available during peak evening hours.

Banner Desert also is in the process of expanding its emergency department from 54 to 82 beds and upgrading other areas of the hospital.

Early next year, Banner Heart Hospital, at Banner Baywood, will complete an expansion that adds two operating rooms, four catheterization labs and a 22-bed cardiovascular outpatient area, said Laura Robertson, Banner Heart CEO.

"We will better be able to provide care during the normal working hours for our patients," she said. "We run our procedural rooms late into the evening, and it's not unusual to have surgery scheduled at 4 p.m., 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., or even on weekends. This will allow us to provide more surgery during the prime hours of operations."

Banner Heart will be hiring about 30 people to staff the expanded hospital in mostly clinical positions.

Open house

A community open house for Banner Baywood Medical Center, 6644 E. Baywood Ave., will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 26, during which public tours of the new emergency department will be offered.

The public will be invited to tour the new Cardon Children's Medical Center, 1400 S. Dobson Road, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 4 and Oct. 11.