New Facility Enhances Children’s Hospital position in rapidly growing southwest market.

As Arizona’s only acute care hospital dedicated exclusively to the care of children, Phoenix Children’s Hospital had experienced stellar growth since its founding in 1983. But by 1998, the limitations of operating as a hospital-within-a-hospital were significantly affecting the institution’s prospects for future growth and program development. Phoenix Children’s host, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, had reached physical capacity and was even considering reclaiming some of the space that had been devoted to pediatric care. Simultaneously, the Health Care Financing Administration began reviewing governance and operational control questions that threatened Phoenix Children’s status as in independent organization.

With a guiding focus on further enhancing patient care services for children, Phoenix Children’s Hospital developed an innovative, cost-effective plan to build a state-of-the-art, freestanding pediatric campus to serve children in the sixth largest city in the country. Working from a limited budget and extremely aggressive timeline because of pressures from HCFA and Good Samaritan, the new Phoenix Children’s Hospital opened less than two years from the date ground was broken in 2000 for the comprehensive new campus. In addition to rave reviews from families and the community, the campus has received numerous local, regional and national architectural awards for its family-friendly, environmentally sensitive design.