Phoenix Children’s Hospital to open $40M ER expansion

Phoenix Children’s Hospital will soon open a $40 million addition to its emergency department and Level 1 pediatric trauma center at its main campus.

The additions, set to open to the public Sept. 20, have more than doubled the trauma center and emergency department’s size, according to a Phoenix Children’s Hospital press release.

Originally, the department occupied 18,600 square feet. The area has expanded to 42,302 square feet, hospital officials said.

Dr. Jared Muenzer, a Phoenix Children’s Hospital emergency-medical physician, said the improvements will benefit staff and patients.

“The expanded space, physical layout of the building and medical expertise at our new ED and trauma center will help us save the lives of more children,” said Muenzer, during a tour of the facility for media on Friday.

Dr. Toni Gross said the facility is designed to be “two or even three times more efficient.”

Before the improvements, it took about 4 minutes and 50 seconds for a patient to be brought down from the helicopter landing pad and into a trauma room. With the renovations, the time has been cut down to under 90 seconds.

The old facility was meant to serve 22,000 patients a year. However, Phoenix Children’s Hospital has been caring for more than 84,000 patients coming though its doors yearly, and the expansion will help it handle those numbers more efficiently.

The new space is made to accommodate 100,000 patients annually by increasing the number of private exam rooms from 23 to 75. Five more trauma bays have been added to the facility from the initial four.

Dr. David Notrica, the trauma medical director for the hospital, said with the nine new trauma bays, staff will be able to “take care of up to nine children all at the same time.”

The hospital also made it a priority to enhance patient privacy with the new design.

Every exam room is in between two corridors, which allows patients and family members to enter on one side and the other to allow staff in.

Phoenix Children’s Hospital is the only Level 1 pediatric trauma center in Arizona that is verified by the American College of Surgeons and one of the only ones in the country, according to the press release.

The main campus is located at 1919 E. Thomas Road in Phoenix. The hospital also operates satellite specialty locations throughout the Valley.