In the News
Line Drive
PHOENIX (November 2009) -- For many cancer patients, the treatment of a tumor has been limited to chemo-therapy or risky, invasive surgery that offered questionable results, higher risk for complications, and possible damage to neighboring tissues. But for most of this year, Banner Good Samaritan in Phoenix has been using a state-of-the-art weapon to help eradicate cancerous tumors without the invasiveness of a scapel.
Cardon Childrens opens seven story patient tower
MESA, Ariz. (Nov. 2, 2009) It’s been quite an eventful past few days for Isaac Bunker. First, the Mesa High School junior was admitted to Cardon Children’s Medical Center late last week after a cyst was discovered inside his stomach tissue. This lead to abdominal surgery in which a portion of his large intestine was removed along with his appendix.
Childrens medical center opens in Mesa
MESA, Ariz. (Nov.2, 2009) -- To build a hospital that helps kids heal from the inside out, you start by talking to the kids. And their parents. And the medical staff that treats them. Then you listen, says Rhonda Anderson, pediatric administrator at Cardon Children's Medical Center.
As SE Valley grows hospitals emerge
MESA, Ariz. (Nov. 1, 2009) -- On Monday, Mesa will become home to the newest hospital in the Valley, the first children's hospital in Arizona designed and built from the ground up exclusively for kids. Cardon Children's Medical, a $356 million hospital will open after two years of construction.
Medical center for kids meets critical need
MESA, Ariz. (Oct. 31, 2009) -- Water walls, giant trees and light posts straight out of Narnia adorn the lobby of Cardon Children's Medical Center. There are goo-filled floor tiles that change color when people walk on them and a performance studio where kids can host fashion shows and video-game tournaments.
New specialists at hospitals
MESA (Oct. 30, 2009) -- Banner Health's Cardon Children's Medical Center has been recruiting physician specialists for more than a year for its $356 million expansion at Mesa's Banner Desert Medical Center. For example, five physicians were added to the 36-member Banner Pediatric Specialists group, which is one of the groups of pediatric specialists that make up the hospital's 225 physicians.
Management practices help health care executives deal with cancer
PHOENIX (Oct. 29, 2009) -- That morning in mid-July of 2008 was of no particular significance to Peter Fine. He got up, got ready for work and made it into his office at Banner Health, headquartered in Phoenix, at his customary time. Of course, there was that little matter of a small lump that he felt near his throat when he was shaving. It nagged at him until later that day when he talked to his doctor about it.
Kids hospitals get $1 billion boost
PHOENIX (Oct. 28, 2009) -- Two major children's-hospital expansions will give Phoenix-area families more choices when it comes to top-notch pediatric care. Phoenix Children's Hospital and Banner Health Cardon Children's Medical Center combined will spend nearly $1 billion to build new hospital towers with state-of-the-art medical equipment to deliver advanced treatments
Banner benefactor will soon see his dream come true
MESA, Ariz. (Oct. 26, 2009) --Wilford Cardon's dream will come true in less than two weeks. On Nov. 2, he will see Banner Desert Medical Center open the Southeast Valley's first children's hospital. The $356-million Cardon Children's Medical Center, formerly Banner Children's Hospital, will move into a seven-tower attached to two-level building that will provide 248 pediatric beds and six operating rooms
2 pregnant Valley women die after swine flu complications
PHOENIX (Oct. 21, 2009) -- Carol Del Principe is pregnant with twins. She’s nearing the end of her high risk pregnancy but the growing, immediate threat of the swine flu weighs heavily on her mind.
Brain implant eases Parkinsons symptoms
SUN CITY (Oct. 20, 2009) -- Mike O’Leary of Surprise was just 43 when he was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease. In July, O’Leary became the first person in Arizona to receive a rechargeable, deep brain stimulation implant, a device that works similar to a pacemaker that stimulates a precise area of the brain to address symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and essential tremors, stopping the tremors.
More hospital workers get vaccine
PHOENIX (Oct. 20, 2009) -- A Valley hospital has started offering more of its workers the swine flu vaccine in an effort to try and protect its employees and its patients.
Swine flu can leave a young victim fighting for life
PHOENIX (Oct. 18, 2009) -- The text message sent Monica Beck racing across town late on a Sunday evening two weeks ago. Her son had typed that he was unable to talk. That he could barely breathe. ... Shortly after going into the hospital, the Phoenix man tested positive for H1N1 "swine" flu.
Cottonwood man travels to New Zealand for medical tourism
COTTONWOOD, Ariz. (Oct. 18, 2009) -- Dr. Stander says Banner Good Samaritan's doctors often see patients who have had complications from overseas medical care.
Valley ERs dealing with huge jump in flu cases
PHOENIX (Oct. 15, 2009) -- Doctors and nurses are already dealing with the winter months in the emergency room. "It's the time for flu, cold, respiratory symptoms and people generally being sick," said Richard Watts, clinical director of Trauma and Emergency at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center.
Banner Heart Hospital earns recognition
MESA (Oct. 15, 2009) -- Banner Heart Hospital, in partnership with Tri-City Cardiology and Banner Home Care and Banner Hospice, has been named the first accredited heart failure institute in Arizona by the National Heart Failure Colloquium.
Banner program helps Parkinsons patients speak and move
SUN CITY (Oct. 14, 2009) Banner Bosewell Hospital has launched a program to help patients with Parkinson's disease improve their speaking and motor skills.
Arizona training hospital uses fake patients
MESA, Ariz. (Oct. 13, 2009) -- Hospital errors account for more deaths in the United States than car wrecks and breast cancer. And those mistakes cost money. One health care provider wants to reduce that cost — and make patients safer in the process — by training doctors and nurses with fake patients. Banner Health in Arizona is about to open this hospital ghost town of sorts. Lifeless mannequins will bleed, burp and give birth in the center's ICU and emergency room.
Banner nurse carries on mission of emotional healing
SUN CITY WEST (Oct. 13, 2009) -- When Terry Emrick suffered an early pregnancy loss 24 years ago, the cold, sterile process left her feeling empty and alone.
New treatment for uterine fibroids
PHOENIX (Oct. 12, 2009) -- For years, women suffering from uterine fibroids have had to get a hysterectomy to put an end to their sufferine, but this morning there is new hope -- a treatment that has at least one Valley woman getting her life back on track.
$38 million Banner Baywood ED opens doors
MESA, Ariz. (Oct. 8, 2009) There will be shorter wait times to see a doctor, spacious private rooms and additional parking spaces for visitors. Banner Baywood Medical Center's $38 million state-of-the-art emergency department opened for business last week.
Cream reduces the pain for breast cancer patients
MESA, Ariz. (Oct. 6, 2009) -- Jesse Crowe remembers the woman lying on his imaging table three years ago. She was in her 40s, young for a breast-cancer patient, and she was tense with fear and apprehension. "She was the type you don't see," Crowe said. "I remember doing the injection and how painful it was for her.
Nursing Training Simulator
PHOENIX (Oct. 5, 2009) - There are about two and a half million registered nurses working in the US right now. That's a huge number...and you have to wonder where they get all their training before you see them at a clinic or hospital. Many of them work in a simulation hospital...and it turns out one of the biggest is right here in the valley.
Open house at Mesa hospital draws a crowd
MESA, Ariz. (Oct. 4, 2009) --A hospital is normally a place people want to stay out of, much less flock to. But at Banner Health’s newly-completed $356 million Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa on Sunday, about 3,000 people attended an open house featuring tours of the facility, booths showcasing its programs and a celebrity a lot of young girls crooned over — Disney Channel’s Moises Arias.
Screaming bleeding mannequins help teach nurses
MESA, Ariz. (Oct. 2, 2009) -- An intense, real world scenario plays out in a hospital room. It’s real enough to shake up an experience nurse even though it’s just a drill. “You forget and just get in the moment,” said Banner Health nurse Denielle Headley.
Banner Sun Health join groundbreaking study
SUN CITY, Ariz. (Oct. 2, 2009) -- Sun Health Research Institute and Banner Alzheimer’s Institute today announced that they have been selected as national Phase III sites involved in a ground-breaking medical imaging study to detect Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages.
Childrens hospital holds reunion for NICU families
MESA, Ariz. (Oct. 1, 2009) -- Martha Walters snapped pictures of her husband, Kevin and their son Jacob, 3, making crafts. The Queen Creek mother enjoyed the moment. Three years ago, the odds didn't seem like they were in her son's favor, she said. Jacob was born weighing a pound and half. . . On Sunday, her family was one of a hundreds that reunited with nurses and doctors of Cardon Children's Medical Center's neonatal intensive care unit.
Mitt Romney visits Mesa hospital
MESA, Ariz. (Oct. 1, 2009) -- Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's first visit to Arizona since the 2008 election was more than just a family visit. Romney, a second cousin to southeast Valley real-estate developer Wilford Cardon, toured the new home of Cardon Children's Medical Center with the discerning eye of a former hospital-industry executive.
Ariz. must sustain research support for Alzheimer's
PHOENIX (Sept. 30, 2009) -- Arizona is becoming a major player in the global race to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease. Thanks to relatively small but critical state support, an innovative consortium is making strides in research and offering more options for Arizona patients.
Leadership Matters for the Path to Success A Banner Case Study
PHOENIX (Sept. 28, 2009) --Speaking to a group of new Banner Health leaders, President and CEO Peter S. Fine reflected on the story that put him and his organization on the path to success. “I got it when a Board member told me that my success would be due to leadership,” Fine told the group. “The Board member told me that if I didn’t remember anything else, I should remember that leadership matters,” he said.
Banner Del E. Webb offers digital mammography
SUN CITY WEST, Ariz. (Sept. 28, 2009) --The technology to detect breast cancer early just got better at the Women’s Diagnostic Imaging Center at Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center, 14502 W. Meeker Blvd., in Sun City West.
Buckeye man risks his life to save dog from rattlesnake
BUCKEYE, Ariz. (Sept. 26, 2009) -- We should all wish for a neighbor like Leon Sior of Buckeye.
Growing with need
MESA, Ariz. (Sept. 26, 2009) -- Travis Senitza of Gilbert was born at Banner Desert Medical Center back when shag carpeting and disco were all the rage. In fact, he was born in 1977, before it was known as Banner Desert. So were two of his children, born at the same hospital in 1997 and 1999. His third, Lily, arrived in 2004, after the name change and a major medical merger made Banner one of the largest hospital systems in the country.
Couple pays it forward to Little Angel
GLENDALE, Ariz. (Sept. 25, 2009) -- Hospitals can be scary places, especially when you’re going there to have a procedure done. That was the case this April for Dave and Kathy Chapman from Phoenix. Dave was going to Banner Thunderbird Hospital in Glendale to have a kidney stone removed. Kathy was a bundle of nerves.
New Banner Baywood ED opens next week
MESA, Ariz. (Sept. 24, 2009) --There will be shorter wait-times to see a doctor, spacious private rooms and additional parking spaces for visitors. Banner Baywood Medical Center's new $38 million state-of-the-art emergency department opens for business at 5:30 a.m. Oct. 1.
A gift of warmth to last a lifetime
TORRINGTON, Wyo. (Sept. 23, 2009) --Every baby born at Banner Health Community Hospital in Torrington receives a special gift - one that will last a lifetime.
East Morgan County Hospital gets grant for surgery expansion
BRUSH, Colo. (Sept. 22, 2009) --During a presentation last week, East Morgan County Hospital received its first grant award for a project that would expand and remodel the hospital’s surgery center.
West Valley hospitals restrict visitations by kids
PHOENIX (Sept. 22, 2009) -- West Valley hospitals are hoping a "no kids" visitation policy will stem the number of H1N1 swine-flu cases expected this winter.
New form of radiation therapy
PHOENIX (Sept. 21, 2009) - It seems that everyone knows someone, a relative, friend or coworker, who's life has been affected by cancer. But thanks to a new kind of radiation therapy at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center that's only been available since the beginning of the year, he's got a new lease on life.
Goshen Care Center admits patients
TORRINGTON, Wyo.(Sept. 21, 2009) —Banner Health said it admitted residents this summer to the Alzheimer's care unit at its Goshen Care Center in Torrington.
AZ Hospital Unique in US
PHOENIX (Sept. 17, 2009) -- Studies show medical errors account for more deaths in the United States than car wrecks, breast cancer and AIDS. Experts say hospital mistakes are preventable. And that's why the Banner Simulation Medical Center will open its doors in Mesa next month.
H1N1 Twitter Chat
PHOENIX (Sept. 16, 2009) -- Raising Arizona Kids (@RAKmagazine) and Banner Good Samaritan (@BannerGoodSam) co-hosted a live Twitter chat featuring infectious disease specialist Felipe Gutierrez, MD. Following is the transcript of that event.
The Art of Living with Alzheimers
VIENNA, Va. (Sept. 16, 2009) -- (Bob) Blackwell is among many people suffering from some form of dementia who are pursuing fine-arts activities . . . Elsewhere, museums and symphonies are opening their doors to those with dementia. In Phoenix, Banner Alzheimer's Institute began collaborating with the Phoenix Symphony, the Phoenix Art Museum, and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Hi-Tech Hospitals Keep You Safe
PHOENIX (Sept. 15, 2009) -- Nurses like Mary Ann Marshall know they can't be with every patient every minute. "As much as you want to be by the bedside constantly, you cannot," Marshall, who is an ICU registered nurse at Banner Health's iCare Intensive Care, told Ivanhoe. "It's impossible." Now, someone's got her back.
Banner Health expanding its presence in the East Valley
MESA, Ariz. (Sept. 10, 2009) --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.
Arizona town hall on health care reform
PHOENIX (Sept. 9, 2009) -- Peter Fine, chairman and CEO of Banner Health, and other Arizona health care leaders participated in an Arizona Republic virtual town hall on why health care reform is necessary.
Hospital receives grants for childrens programs
MESA, Ariz. (Sept. 9, 2009) -- Cardon Children's Medical Center was given an $800,000 grant from First Things First Southeast Maricopa Regional Council to expand its early child development programs.
Health care gains in a slow job market
GLENDALE, Ariz. (Sept. 6, 2009) Lisa Beckman knows the long odds that job seekers face in this lousy economy. So the significance of receiving an unsolicited call on a job opening from Banner Thunderbird Medical Center was not lost on her.
Merger anniversary finds hospitals in good health
SUN CITY, Ariz. (Sept. 4, 2009) -- It’s been a busy and productive year since Banner Health and Sun Health merged, bringing Sun Health into the Banner Health network.
Doctors at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center Now Offering Precise Image-Guided Radiosurgery for Cancer and Neurological Disorders
PHOENIX, (Sept. 3, 2009) -- John J. Kresl, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center are now treating a wide variety of cancers and neurological disorders with highly-accurate, non-invasive, image-guided radiosurgery using the Novalis Tx(TM) radiosurgery platform from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) and BrainLAB.
Childrens hospital a unique healing place
MESA, Ariz. (Sept. 3, 2009) -- Banner Health provided a sneak peek Thursday of Cardon Children's Medical Center, describing it as a "unique and whimsical place" that will greatly expand the current children's hospital on the Banner Desert Medical Center campus in Mesa.
Addictive personalities easy prey for scammers
SUN CITY, Ariz. (Aug. 31, 2009) -- What would make a person like John fall for scams and continue to send payment after payment in hopes of cashing in on that one big jackpot? Sandi Lloyd, director of behavioral health for Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center, said the compulsion could be attributed to a number of factors.
Lack of patient access limits promising cell therapy
PHOENIX (Aug. 30, 2009) -- Among the many decisions that parents face before the birth of their child is a potentially critical one: whether to preserve their infant's umbilical-cord blood on the chance that he or she will need it someday to treat a serious illness.
Hospitals Offer Deep Discounts
PHOENIX (Aug. 28, 2009) -- In tough economic times, some Valley hospitals are offering huge discounts for people who are underinsured or have no coverage at all. Gilbert mother Jaime Butler said she saved thousands of dollars when she gave birth to her son Crew. She was expecting to pay around $12,000 because her health insurance doesn't include labor and delivery costs; however, she learned Banner Health offers discount packages for those who can't afford to pay. She ended up paying $4,000 -- an $8,000 savings.
Cancer fundraiser results in pink of health
STERLING, Wyo. (Aug. 28, 2009) — The results are in from this year’s Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign, and it looks like everyone wins.No, we’re not talking about the rodeo; we’re talking about what it has done for the community. Thursday, members of the Logan County Fair Board presented Sterling Regional MedCenter with a check for $2,930 raised by the Friday night PRCA rodeo at this year’s fair.
County offiical donates salary
SUN CITY, Ariz. (Aug. 26, 2009) --During a time when government leaders regretfully cut social services, Maricopa County Supervisor Max Wilson decided to personally make up some of the difference.
Mesa hospital can learn a lot from a dummy
MESA, Ariz. (Aug. 24, 2009) --The patient lies flat on his back on a bed in the intensive care unit and appears to be gasping for breath, his chest heaving up and down
New era begins for cancer patients
STERLING, Colo. (Aug. 24, 2009) — Thursday afternoon marked “the beginning of a new era for healthcare services in northeastern Colorado,” according to Michelle Joy, CEO at Sterling Regional MedCenter.
Grandmas Baby Advice Not always the best advice
SUN CITY WEST, Ariz. (Aug. 24, 2009) --Pediatrics magazine found two-thirds of the images depicted in magazines show dangerous baby sleep environments, and Janet Peirce-Hollett, Women’s Health educator at Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City West, is trying to make that point to soon-to-be moms.
Banner preps for next wave of H1N1 flu
PHOENIX (Aug. 19, 2009) - A Banner Health Care doctor fears the "perfect storm" this fall as seasonal and swine flus converge and pose risks for the "very young and the very old."
Small community draws Nixon and Harper to EMCH part three
BRUSH, Colo. (Aug. 18, 2009) -- Since January of this year, East Morgan County Hospital (EMCH), Brush, has welcomed several new staff members. Following is the third in a three-part series introducing new personnel at the health care facility.
Older drivers not such a hazard
SUN CITY, Ariz. (Aug. 18, 2009) -- Once a week, Ruthie Culver steps into her golf cart and drives the 3 miles or so from her home to Banner Boswell Medical Center in Sun City, where she volunteers.
State of the art center for preemies opens at Banner Thunderbird
GLENDALE, Ariz. (Aug. 12, 2009) Glendale's Banner Thunderbird Medical Center has just opened a $2 million women's health facility, an expansion of one of the few venues west of Phoenix able to treat premature babies younger than 28 weeks.
Valley seniors may hold key to aging well
PEORIA, Ariz. (Aug. 9, 2009) -- Helen Benner remembers toiling as a child on a 40-acre Ohio farm, helping plant 3,000 tomato plants in one afternoon, carrying 5-gallon buckets of water out to the chickens and milking cows at 5 a.m. before heading to school. . . Benner and about 600 northwest Valley seniors are participating in a multiyear pilot project (at Sun Health Research Institute) to determine how some people manage to age healthfully into their 80s, 90s and 100s.
Banner touts electrical cancer treatment
PHOENIX (Aug. 5, 2009) -- Millisecond bursts of electricity flowed pass Maria Bartz's skin behind her rib cage and straight to her sick liver. Bartz lay motionless as probes emitting as much as 3,000 volts and as little as 1,500 volts - a similar amount used to kill insects in electric fly swatters - poked through the right side of her body.
East Morgan County Hospital welcomes Siegrist as HR officer part two
BRUSH, Colo. (Aug. 4, 2009) -- Since January of this year, East Morgan County Hospital (EMCH), Brush, has welcomed several new staff members. Following is the second in a three-part series introducing new personnel at the health care facility.
Box helps greiving mother with loss
GILBERT, Ariz. (Aug. 4, 2009) -- The past year, Brittany Kunz has been into projects. She has made bows, redecorated her Mesa home, set up new shelving and "changed everything from top to bottom."
Simulation Center to test new nurses
MESA, Ariz. (Aug. 3, 2009) -- Banner Simulation Medical Center in Mesa will have no human patients, just 71 computerized mannequins that lie in beds waiting for programmers to give them strokes, heart attacks or even breech births.
