New Progressive Care Unit to offer private rooms, new technology
By John Tucker
Construction crews are a common sight on medical center campuses across the country as health care organizations expand and remodel to meet evolving needs.
Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City West is certainly part of this trend.
With support from the community through Sun Health Foundation, the medical center is converting 22,952 square feet of shelled space on the fifth floor of its “D” tower into a unit with 28 private rooms for progressive care patients.
“The unit will serve patients with a variety of conditions, including congestive heart failure, renal disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and a variety of other illnesses and diagnoses,” Chief Nursing Officer Nancy Adamson says.
Progressive care units serve as a stepping stone for patients who are well enough to leave the intensive care unit, but who still need closer monitoring than what is available on a typical medical/surgical unit.
Banner Del E. Webb has two progressive care units, which often operate at capacity in the fall and winter months when the local population swells with winter visitors. The new progressive care unit will help alleviate that bed crunch and the 28 private rooms will bring the hospital closer to its goal of having all private rooms throughout the medical center.
Sun Health and Banner Health have committed $5.9 million to the $10.9 million project with Sun Health Foundation challenging the community to help raise the remaining $5 million.
“Community support has played a major role in Banner Del E. Webb’s success over the years,” Sun Health President and CEO Ron Guziak says. “We believe local residents will get behind this project once they learn why it’s being built and how it can benefit their family members, neighbors or even themselves.”
It’s a familiar storyline.
The community medical center opened in 1988 with strong backing from donors to Sun Health Foundation, which continues to provide philanthropic support to the medical center as well as to Banner Boswell Medical Center and Banner Sun Health Research Institute. Virtually all capital improvements in Banner Del E. Webb’s history have benefited from community philanthropy.
“The longstanding partnership between Banner and Sun Health has benefited this community many times over and we are so pleased to partner again on this particular project,” says Rob Gould, president of Banner Health’s Arizona West Region.
Sun Health Foundation Board Chair Jerry Solomon agrees. “Community support makes the difference. The funds raised ensure that all of us have access to the highest quality care, close to home. I can’t think of a better investment.”
In addition to the private rooms and new technology, the unit will house a central telemetry monitoring room where technicians can continually monitor the vital signs and heart rhythms of patients on the new unit and on other units in the hospital.
Other amenities include spacious and comfortable family waiting areas, a conference room and a private consultation room for clinicians to meet with families.
The new unit is expected to open to patients by fall 2017. Once completed, the nonprofit hospital will see its bed count grow to 394 licensed beds.
