Firms chosen to build Maricopa County's new public teaching hospital and health care system

PHOENIX, Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Maricopa County Special Health Care District Board of Directors today took an important step in construction of our community's new public teaching hospital and safety net health care system by unanimously approving the company that will oversee system planning, project execution and cost and quality management.

Vanir Construction Management, Inc. was awarded a contract to provide Integrated Program Management Construction Services for development of a new health care campus at the current site of the Maricopa Medical Center and to plan and build new behavioral health capacity and outpatient health care centers across Maricopa County.

The action taken today is in fulfillment of the vision of Maricopa County Special Health Care District Board of Directors, the Maricopa Health Centers Governing Council, the work of the MIHS Bond Advisory Committee, and the support of Maricopa County voters who overwhelmingly approved Proposition 480.  

"We are excited to be moving forward with a plan that will allow MIHS to reinvent the way care is delivered to improve efficiencies, to improve patient care and community health. This reinvention will better support how physicians, nurses and other allied health professionals need to be trained for the future.  Most importantly, this will enhance MIHS's ability to fulfill its historic role as Maricopa County's teaching hospital and safety net system of care," said Steve Purves, MIHS President and CEO.

Susan Gerard, Chairman of the Maricopa County Special Health Care District Board of Directors, said, "This is a historic moment in the 140-year history of our community's public health care system. Together with our partners, we will build a first-class hospital and network of clinics that will advance the health and wellness of our community for years to come."

Mary A. Harden, RN, Vice Chairman of the Board, said, "What Great News!  The Maricopa County Special Health Care District is moving forward with Prop 480. Can't wait to see the first shovel hit the ground.  Special thanks to our greatest asset, our staff, for hanging in there.  Our citizens and community deserve this.  What a bright future for all."

Director Elbert "Bick" Bicknell noted that the Maricopa Medical Center began in 1874 "as just a small county hospital for the underserved, the poor, a safety net hospital."

"The citizens of Maricopa County realized the need to continue with what we have become over the years by overwhelmingly voting to support Prop 480. This support will allow MIHS to sustain its role as a premier public teaching hospital and safety net health system of care. The staff and Board of Directors, with Prop 480, will now ensure a modern, efficient network of services and facilities in which to train the next generation of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals."

Director Mark Dewane said, "I am proud to be part of the journey for MIHS. Since 2014, the MIHS Board of Directors has spent countless hours with senior leadership to move towards this new chapter.  I am proud of the work already done and eager for that which we are about to undertake.  My colleagues and I are working hard for each and every constituent to make 'their' health care system world-class."

Director Mary Rose Wilcox said, "Today, MIHS is embarking on fulfilling our constituents' vision to assist us in making our health care delivery system the best in the county. It is with pride we are putting forth a project that will in the next few years deliver new clinics and a new hospital with a focus on health care and wellness for the community."

Voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 480 in 2014 to develop, improve and expand MIHS's healthcare facilities in Maricopa County. MIHS includes the Maricopa Medical Center, the Arizona Burn Center, Level I Trauma Center, the Arizona Children's Center, two behavioral health facilities and 13 Family Health Centers located across Maricopa County. Maricopa Medical Center, which houses the Arizona Burn Center, was built in the late 60s and will be replaced as part of a comprehensive campus re-design at the current location at 24^th Street and Roosevelt Street.  

The IPMO is a joint venture of Vanir Construction Management and four other companies to provide services that include demographic planning, operational design, land acquisition, branding and community engagement.

"We are pleased with the exemplary qualifications of our selected firms," said Purves. "We are equally impressed with their teamwork, leadership and eagerness to work together and with us to develop a unique plan that will meet the needs of our community for many years to come."

Purves thanked the Maricopa County Special Health Care District Board of Directors for their vision, the District Medical Group, and members of the Maricopa Health Centers Governing Council (who oversee MIHS's Family Health Centers) for their support during the extensive due diligence process undertaken to date.

Please follow the progress of MIHS's "Building Our Future" program at http://www.mihs.org/building-our-future/home

You can also learn more about Vanir and the other four companies:

• Vanir Construction Management, Inc. is one of the nation's leading full-service, program, project and construction management firms, delivering more than $16 billion in construction value since 1980. Vanir has served healthcare clients throughout the United States, including medical clinics, veterans' homes, children's hospitals, mental hospitals, licensed acute facilities and other healthcare facilities, as well as education, justice, water/wastewater, public buildings, transportation and energy markets. Vanir has been consistently ranked by Engineering News-Record as one of the "Top 50 CM Firms" for more than 20 years. For more information, visit http://www.vanir.com/Markets/Healthcare.aspx.
• The Innova Group for  strategical and market planning: http://www.theinnovagroup.com/
• Blue Cottage for operations and facility planning services: https://bluecottage.com/
• Siegel + Gale for provide branding strategy and design: http://www.siegelgale.com
• Land Advisors Organization for real estate advisory and land acquisition: http://www.landadvisors.com/

About Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS)
Located in Phoenix, Ariz., Maricopa Integrated Health System has a proud tradition of being both the community safety net health care system, with a mission and commitment to serving the underserved and Arizona's only public teaching hospital. MIHS consists of Maricopa Medical, the only Level I Trauma Center in Arizona verified by the American College of Surgeons to care for both adults and children, Arizona's only nationally verified Burn Center serving the entire Southwestern United States, MIHS's McDowell Healthcare Center, which is the largest provider of HIV primary care in Arizona, the Refugee Women's Health Clinic, the Arizona Children's Center, two behavioral health centers, and 13 neighborhood Family Health Centers. To learn more about MIHS, please visit www.mihs.org.

Contact: Michael Murphy, 602-568-0010, [email protected]

SOURCE Maricopa Integrated Health System