Banner Estrella celebrates completion of second patient tower

PHOENIX, Feb. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Banner Estrella Medical Center, recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the Arizona's top 10 hospitals, will celebrate the opening of a new patient tower with a dedication event highlighted by a free community health fair and guided tours of the new building.

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on March 8 at the nonprofit hospital, 9201 W. Thomas Road in Phoenix, Ariz.

The dedication will kick off with formal remarks at 9 a.m., followed by a Native American blessing and dove release. Planned activities include a health fair with interactive booths, kids' activities, health screenings and guided tours. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

The 178-bed, $161 million patient tower will open in phases, ultimately taking the campus from 214 to 392 licensed beds.

The first floor will be dedicated to supporting maternity services, including a 20-bed nursery built to neonatal intensive care standards, 12 additional postpartum rooms, and two additional labor and delivery rooms. The first floor also features a dedicated outdoor garden area for Women and Infants Services patients. The second floor will provide space for new cardiac catheterization labs, a special procedures room, dialysis unit and endoscopy suite.

The third floor will immediately provide 36 additional private rooms for general medical and surgery patients. The fourth floor will provide an additional 36 rooms, with furnishings and equipment being added later when patient demand warrants opening it. The fifth and sixth floors have only their exterior walls complete, with no interior walls or finishes. These floors will also provide space for future growth..

"This project demonstrates our commitment to providing the best patient care to every patient every time in the face of a growing need for health care in the Southwest Valley," said Deb Krmpotic, chief executive officer at Banner Estrella. "We are proud to honor our promise to the community by not just meeting, but exceeding the current and future health care needs."

With the patient tower complete, phase two of the construction project is now underway to renovate 59,000 square feet of the existing hospital. A significant component of this phase will be a doubling in size of the hospital's emergency room, allowing it to care for more than 120,000 patients annually. The larger, redesigned space will allow the hospital to provide emergency treatment more quickly and efficiently, as well as provide dedicated spaces and amenities to care for children.

"All of our patients receive high-quality patient care, but children have unique treatment needs," Krmpotic said. "We are proud of our ability to provide specialized Emergency care to even our youngest patients."

The community is encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the dedication celebration on March 8 to help fill the shelves of Banner Estrella's Emergency Department toy closet, benefitting children receiving emergency care.

Banner Estrella Medical Center is a nonprofit hospital in west Phoenix specializing in heart care, obstetrics, surgical services, emergency care and diagnostic imaging services. One of the first fully-digital hospitals in the country, Banner Estrella has served as a model for dozens of new hospitals built around the world since it opened in 2005. Banner Estrella is part of Banner Health, a nonprofit health care system with 24 hospitals in seven states. For more information, visit www.BannerHealth.com/Estrella or Facebook.

Contact: Jen Fenter, Public Relations
[email protected]

SOURCE Banner Estrella Medical Center