San Tan Valley Today is covering our progress.
The Florence Hospital at Anthem Project is approximately 75 percent complete – both in construction and fulfilling a hope that spans years.
Building exterior: Framing and sheeting are complete, stucco application is underway with the finished color on 25 percent of the building. Site development is underway with cub and gutter now 50 percent complete.
Building interior: Painting is ongoing inthe patient wing, surgical department, ancillary department, imaging department and emergency department. Drywall is starting in the correctional departments. Tile is nearly complete in the patient wing and starting int the surgical department. Electrical work is underway. The air handler units and condenser units have been placed on the roof with the final connections being made.
We are proceeding with licensure inspections and anticipate opening late December 2011/early January 2012.
“This is not about out-of-state hospital companies looking at profit potential, this is about local folks seeing a need and then meeting that need,” said Founder Dr. Tim Johns during the June 2011 topping out ceremony.
Mayor Vicki nKilvinger said the new hospital will fulfill a nine-year-old dream of having a full-service, acute-care hospital in the town, and will encourage development in the surrounding area.
“This is putting steel in the backbone of Florence,” she said.
Kilvinger also said amenities such as the hospital would help show other communities that Florence was not just “a city with a prison.”
When completed, Florence Hospital at Anthem will have 36 in-patient beds, 20 emergency beds, and four ICU beds. It will employ 225 staff its first year and have a $15 million annual payroll.
Dr. John's speech during topping off ceremonies in June 2011:
"Today represents a milestone in the development of Florence Hospital with a placing of the last piece of over 400 tons of steel. We are almost halfway with the building process, but the story starts much further back. Town leaders have been striving for a full service hospital for over 10 years. Hopes have been raised and dashed many times. This time, however, things are different.
It's different because Florence Hospital is a local project controlled by local people. This is not about out-of-state hospital companies looking at profit potential. This is about local folks seeing a need and then meeting that need. We made promises to the community. We intend to keep our promises.
Florence Hospital is a microcosm of the Town of Florence as it moves into the 21st century. Both are melding the past with the future. The future for both is bright; but get our foundation and focus from the past.
It’s about getting people in need in front of a medical team who have the time and resources to take care of each individual in a kind and caring environment. We have learned how to do this at Gilbert Hospital for the past five years. Patients will have the same experience whether they are at Gilbert Hospital or Florence Hospital. Our medical team is here for the same reason it is at Gilbert Hospital: local citizens fulfilling a local need. To these folks this is much more than just a job or an investment. That's why Gilbert Hospital was just voted the best place to work in the East Valley and why Gilbert Hospital has one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the industry.
I look forward to the day in a few short months when we stand here and cut the ribbon for the opening of Florence Hospital at Anthem."