New women's tower opens at Banner Desert

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MESA, Ariz. (Jan. 10, 2023) – Banner Desert Medical Center today opened a new patient tower dedicated to women’s health and wellness. The tower is adjacent to the existing pediatric patient tower, providing easy access for the unique health care needs of women and children of all ages.

The women’s tower, which is part of a $151 million expansion project at Banner Desert, provides an innovative approach to women’s care and will be a health care destination for all women, from childbirth to senior care. This most recent major expansion of the East Valley’s only Level 1 trauma center addresses projected growth and capacity needs into the future.

“This is an investment in the community – in people – and positions Banner Health as an absolute leader in women and children’s services,” said Banner Health CEO Peter S. Fine. “It also shows that just because Banner is big doesn’t mean we can’t focus on one patient and one family at a time, to make health care easier and more accessible.”

The new women’s tower, with modern patient care and procedural spaces, features:

• A new entrance for women and children with a grand redesigned lobby

• 148 new, state-of-the-art inpatient rooms, including a new Labor & Delivery unit for low- and high-risk deliveries, and 108 medical/surgical rooms dedicated to women’s care and recovery

• Large patient rooms with natural light, views, refrigerators and digital device connectivity

• A dedicated OB triage unit

• New C-section operating rooms, including support for women carrying multiples (such as twins and triplets)

• Adjacent access to the 76-bed, Level III NICU and pediatric patient tower

• A new Lactation Boutique offering supplies and lactation services by board-certified lactation consultant nurses

“We have always provided excellent patient care, and this new dedicated women’s tower will further elevate the entire experience for our female patients, who have unique needs across the age, health and wellness continuum,” said Laura Robertson, CEO of Banner Desert and Banner Children’s at Desert.

Women arriving in active labor will now enter through the new women and children’s entrance facing north at the corner of Southern Avenue and Dobson Road. OB Triage is on the third floor. Laboring women arriving by ambulance will be taken through the emergency room and up to OB triage.

“We appreciate the support of the community as we have gone through this massive expansion, and look forward to continuing our nonprofit mission of serving all populations and ages, from infant to adult, in a caring, patient-centered environment for years to come,” Robertson said.

The expansion project began in 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when existing shelled space was built out to bring on 24 adult acute-care rooms to meet pressing patient-care capacity needs that summer. Still to come is an ICU expansion that will be completed in the first quarter of 2024. For the Banner Desert expansion project, the architect is Cuningham and the contractor is DPR.

Banner Desert Medical Center is a nonprofit hospital providing a range of inpatient and outpatient services, including emergency services, Level I trauma care, cancer care, heart care, orthopedics, women and infant services, rehabilitation, neurological care and more. The medical center is one of the most comprehensive hospitals in Arizona and serves as a regional referral center in the East Valley of metropolitan Phoenix. The medical campus is also home to Banner Children's at Desert. Both facilities are owned and operated by Banner Health, the largest provider of health care services in Arizona. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com/desert.

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