Kids hospitals get $1 billion boost
By Ken Alltucker
The Arizona Republic
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.
The hospitals say the expansions are sorely needed to keep pace with the metropolitan region's growth. Area hospitals already struggle to provide timely health care to the region's 1 million children during peak flu season as sick kids crowd the Valley's emergency rooms.
Health-care experts say the problem would only worsen without new buildings and more doctors.
Despite a tapering number of births in the Valley over the past two years, the number of children in metropolitan Phoenix is expected to swell to more than 1.5 million by 2030.
"This will allow us to avoid having people back up in emergency rooms," said Todd Werner, chief executive officer of the Cardon Children's Medical Center in Mesa. "We have a good opportunity to put a dent in any deficit that is out there."
