A grand opening celebration was recently held for Banner Health’s newest multispecialty health center. The three-story, 128,413-square-foot Banner Health Center plus is the health system’s largest such facility to date. It is located in Glendale, a northwest Phoenix, Arizona suburb. The project team included healthcare real estate developer NexCore Group, architecture firm SmithGroup and contractor Haydon Building Construction.
Unique and innovative features included in the design are an on-stage/off-stage configuration, in which patients have access to public areas and exam rooms, while health center staff use behind-the-scenes hallways, meeting rooms and collaborative spaces not visible to the public. Patients benefit from this streamlined design because its saves time and reduces walking distances, and staff benefits because it provides them with private space for communication and collaboration, as well as ready access to patients and exam rooms.
The project team also added efficiency to the facility by leading a Lean design initiative to revise the Banner model’s clinical POD configurations, creating shared staff and spaces between specific service lines, and changing the building stacking from a two-story to a three-story building. The result incorporated the entire original program and configured clinics into 10 universal PODs in less overall square footage.
Adding to the efficiency and innovation of the building are the attractive benefits to patients and staff, including easy access, a sleek and modern design that emphasizes site wayfinding to ease patient anxiety, full-height glazing in patient waiting areas to maximize daylight and connection to mountain views and a covered canopy patient drop-off area.
The project team’s synergy fostered an efficient and cooperative working relationship with the city of Glendale and smooth workflow as the Banner Health Center plus was constructed, as well as an efficient project timeline. This cooperative spirit allowed the team to rapidly move from concept to groundbreaking on Feb. 22, 2020, in less than eight months; the ensuing construction phase to grand opening was accomplished in 14 months.
Banner Health Center plus features 128 exam rooms and 13 imaging rooms; its 45 physicians offer comprehensive clinical services designed with a focus on customer convenience, including family medicine, pediatrics, orthopedics, general surgery, dermatology, gastroenterology, cardiology, endocrinology, internal medicine and OB/GYN. The facility also offers lab, pharmacy and advanced CT and MRI imaging services, plus a wellness trail around the site for patients and staff.
