New hospital opens in Yuma
First phase of exceptional Community Hospital has 8 ER, 9 inpatient beds
The newly opened Exceptional Community Hospital in Yuma started accepting patients Monday morning. The 20,000-square-foot hospital was built at 2648 S. Araby Road, close to Interstate 8, heading toward 24th Street.
The $20-million facility, built by Texas parent company Exceptional Healthcare, has eight beds in the emergency room and nine beds on the hospital side for acute admissions and overnight observation of patients.
The first phase, with two more planned buildouts, includes a specialty internal medicine hospital, a 24-hour emergency department, a “state-of-the-art” digital imaging suite with CT Scan, X-ray, mobile MRI and ultrasound and an in-house laboratory and pharmacy. Additionally, in partnership with higher-level hospitals in the state, Exceptional Community Hospital works with air ambulances to ensure fast
transfer of patients needing a higher level of care.
The hospital accepts all insurance, including Medicare and military plans.
Saeed Mahboubi, chief executive officer, said Exceptional Healthcare is “very excited to open this much-needed new community hospital in Yuma and serve the healthcare needs of Yuma residents.”
Following a Monday morning tour, Mahboubi told the Yuma Sun: “I’d like to let the Yuma community know that they have an option now, and the option is Exceptional Community Hospital here, put together with the idea of giving compassionate and rapid response to the community.
“Our doctors and nurses are trained, when the patient comes in, bring them in quickly, see them, treat them and send them home as fast as possible. If they need to be kept overnight and treated further, we have hospital beds available,” Mahboubi said.
“I appreciate the people of Yuma for giving us this opportunity to be here for them,” he added, explaining that Yuma was his first choice in Arizona “because of the population, the tourist traffic that it has, and it only has one hospital, and the hospital gets overwhelmed with lots of people waiting, and usually this kind of community is primed for our small community hospital.”
The hospital was intentionally located between the Foothills and downtown Yuma for the convenience of people living in both directions.
“We’re a small hospital. A lot of the patients that need surgery and specialists will be transferred to larger hospital systems in Phoenix. We have relations with Banner and Dignity in Phoenix,” Mahboubi said.
“And we have the helicopter available, we have a dedicated helicopter for medevac and can take the people out as quickly as possible. If the weather is not suited for a helicopter, we have ambulances to transfer the patient elsewhere if needed, but most of the patients, 90% of patients, would be treated right here. We’re able to take care of 80% to 90% of patients that come here.”
The hospital is designed to “fast track” patient care. The idea is to “get in as quickly as possible and be seen. You don’t want to wait when you’re sick,” said Paula Hunt, vice president of marketing and communications.
For those admitted into the hospital, patients will have their own room equipped with a pullout sofa for a family member to stay the night.
“We always want to make sure family is part of the care,” Hunt said.
The hospital also offers concierge-style service that provides chef-prepared individualized meal service and complimentary toiletries, bathrobe and slippers for patients.
The facility has so far hired 60 employees but expects to employ up to 100 in the coming months. Rebecca Bremer, who moved from California to be with her fiancé, a Marine based in Yuma, is the emergency department manager.
“My job is to look after my nursing staff as well as the community and make sure the community’s needs are met while they’re here,” Bremer said.
Michelle Kellywood, chief nursing officer and facilities director, grew up on the Navajo Nation. She took the position in Yuma due to a desire to work in a small hospital.
“We want each person who comes through our doors to feel like we take the time to listen to them,” she said. “With a larger hospital, you can’t do that. They become a number, just like their employees.”
In addition, Kellywood wants her nurses to “go back to feeling the compassion of love and taking care of people that they did before the pandemic, because the pandemic expended them, expended all healthcare workers. So I feel like coming here to a smaller facility, we can start to heal, we can start to find that love and passion we used to have as caregivers.”
“Exceptional Healthcare is working alongside area economic development leaders to ensure the hospital will meet and exceed the community’s needs,” noted Bruce McVeigh, chief operations officer.
“Exceptional Healthcare is initiating partnerships with medical groups from across the state to create the concierge care experience patients deserve while accelerating community-based healthcare innovations,” McVeigh said.
Grand opening events in Yuma are slated for November. The hospital plans to work with the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce and be involved in the Yuma community.
“We are so grateful for the warm and welcoming reception, and we look forward to participating in community events and working with nonprofits and local charities,” Hunt noted.
Exceptional Healthcare, founded in 2014, currently operates 15 emergency free-standing ERs and urgent care centers in Texas. It also recently opened a community hospital in Maricopa and plans to open facilities in Bullhead City and Prescott.