West Valley Hospital To Open Its Doors September 4

Contact: Michelle Olson, 480-368-7999
08/22/2003

The Southwest Valley will soon be served by a new community hospital when the West Valley Hospital Medical Center, 13677 W. McDowell Rd., opens its doors September 4, 2003. The 74-bed acute care hospital has been designed to provide services of greatest need to area residents, including obstetrics, medical and surgical services, intensive care and a full-service emergency department.

Hospital features include private, monitored rooms, flexible visiting hours, a home-like décor with full bath and room service to accommodate patient's schedules. The hospital's birthing center features 10 labor-delivery-recovery-post partum suites which allow mothers to move through all phases of the birthing process, all in one comfortable, attractive room, fully outfitted with the latest in medical equipment.

In 2002, nearly 3,000 babies were born to residents in the cities of Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye and surrounding areas. In addition, there was a total of 17,000 hospital inpatient visits to Valley hospitals from neighboring zip codes. Each of these hospital visits previously required a drive of 10 to 20 miles into Phoenix. This growing need for health care services will now be met locally by West Valley Hospital which will also create 250 jobs with a total estimated payroll of $14 million in its first year.

"This new hospital provides a host of new health care options to West Valley residents," says Debbie Flores, hospital administrator. "West Valley Hospital Medical Center will not only provide much-needed health care services to area residents, it will also attract specialty physicians who will be filling a much needed void for services such as urology, neurology and hand surgery."

As the rapidly growing Southwest Valley expands so will West Valley Hospital. Plans are already underway for a new patient wing and two more floors will be added, accommodating a total of 200 beds. A new cardiac operating suite and catheterization lab will open in November, bringing with them cardiovascular services not currently available in the Southwest Valley.

The Southwest Valley is currently served by the West Valley Emergency Center at 140 N. Litchfield Road in Goodyear. This location will remain open until September 17, when it will permanently close, moving emergency services to West Valley Hospital. The Emergency Center serves nearly 30,000 patients each year, with a 14 percent increase over the past year. West Valley Hospital will increase emergency services to the Southwest Valley with a full service, Level II emergency department; 19-beds, including two trauma bays; and an EMS base station for local cities.