MESA, Ariz. (July 17, 2008) -- Banner Baywood Medical Center is pleased to announce it will break ground on its new Emergency department on Aug. 7, 2008 with a ceremony and reception for the community and invited guests.
What: Banner Baywood Emergency Department Groundbreaking
When: Aug. 7, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
Where: Patient discharge parking lot, Banner Baywood Medical Center, 6644 E. Baywood Ave., Mesa, AZ 85206
Who: Speakers include CEO Don Evans and Mesa Mayor Scott Smith
A continental breakfast will be provided.
To RSVP, please call (480) 321-4418 by Aug. 5.
The current Emergency department has 42 rooms. The new Emergency department will cost $38.5 million and feature 54 patient rooms, including two major treatment rooms. Patient rooms will be large, private and equipped with amenities such as flat screen televisions. Other technologies include 54 bedside computers, electronic medical charts and exclusive use of a CT scanning machine.
Though construction will continue until fall 2009, the existing services at the Baywood Emergency department will not be affected. There will be some impact to pedestrians and vehicles accessing the main driveway. Campus parking also will be decreased during construction as the new department will be built in place of current visitor parking. However, the new unit will offer 90 covered parking spaces when completed.
Banner Baywood Medical Center expects to see its first patient in the new Emergency department in late fall 2009.
The Banner Baywood Emergency department expansion will contain:
- Enough concrete to fill up 204 12-foot round pools at 2,975 gallons per pool. (2,900 cubic yards of concrete)
- 421 Volkswagen Beetles’ worth of steel (1.17 million pounds of steel)
- 10,273 acoustical ceiling panels (2’ x 2’)
- 258 doors
- 998 light fixtures
- 5.9 miles of piping (plumbing, HVAC, medical gas)
The plans for the new Emergency department are especially important to Banner Baywood as it continues to expand to meet a growing East Valley population. On Jan. 1, 2006, numerous flu cases coupled with an influx of winter visitors resulted in record-breaking Emergency visits. The patient rooms filled to capacity and Baywood had to reroute any new Emergency patients to other facilities for three hours. During that time, Banner Baywood partnered with the Mesa Fire Department to help potential patients assess their immediate medical needs and provide information for alternative measures. Later that year, a $97 million, seven-story patient tower opened at the medical center, adding 123 new beds.
ABOUT BANNER BAYWOOD MEDICAL CENTER
Banner Baywood Medical Center is a 332-bed facility that features first-class physicians working with an experienced staff to provide the latest medical technology in an environment of clinical excellence, compassion and healing. Its recent $97 million expansion added a seven-story, 123-bed tower to this campus. It is a part of Banner Health, Arizona’s largest health care provider and second largest private employer.
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