Phoenix Children's Hospital

Phoenix Children's Hospital was founded in July 1980 with the idea to provide pediatric care for the region. The hospital officially opened in 1983 as an independent children's hospital that was physically located within Good Samaritan Hospital.[7] With 124 dedicated pediatric beds, it operated there for nearly 20 years. In September 1985 the hospital performed the first pediatric liver transplant in Arizona. A year later the hospital expanded to take over all of Good Samaritan's pediatric services adding 24 beds with the acquisition, again expanding in 1993 adding another 24 beds for a total of 172 pediatric beds.

In 1999, the hospital purchased a 22-acre plot that was originally occupied by the Phoenix Regional Medical Center for construction of a new freestanding children's hospital. In September 2000, demolition of the old hospital began to make way for the construction on a new freestanding hospital to cope with the large increase in demand for pediatric care.

Phoenix Children's opened as Arizona's only freestanding specialized pediatric hospital in May 2002 with 230 pediatric beds, and the only pediatric emergency department in Arizona.

In spring 2008, the hospital opened a new $23 million Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which was one of the largest of its kind in the country.[8]

In 2011, an 11-story tower was opened as the centerpiece of a 37-acre campus including the original East Building, two medical office buildings, a Central Energy Plant, three parking structures, an administration building and a Ronald McDonald House.[9]

In 2016, Phoenix Children's was designated by the Arizona Department of Health Services as the only pediatric Advanced Life Support (ALS) Base Hospital in the state.[10]

In 2017 Phoenix Children's unveiled a new $40 million, 42,300 square foot, 75-room Emergency Department, and nine bay Level 1 Trauma facility to allow more children to be seen more efficiently.[11][12]

In the spring of 2021, a building collaboration between Dignity Health and Phoenix Children's will be opening on the campus of Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.[13] The new building will be named the Women's and Children's Pavilion and feature a 60-bed Level III NICU, 24 bed pediatric inpatient unit, 24 bed pediatric emergency department, 18 pre-op rooms, 6 operating rooms, and 12 Post-Anesthesia Care Units.[14][15]

In March 2021, Phoenix Children's announced the building of a freestanding emergency department and specialty clinic in Avondale, Arizona, providing West Valley families convenient access to top-ranked care.

In May 2021, Phoenix Children's announced the building of a freestanding, 3-story hospital in Glendale, Arizona, which will offer inpatient care, an emergency department, an outpatient surgery center and a multi-specialty clinic.  

In February 2022, Phoenix Children's became a founding partner and official healthcare provider at Bell Bank Park, a $280 million multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex in southeast Mesa, Arizona. Phoenix Children's is opening a 3,915-square-foot facility to offer sports medicine and urgent care at the park.

In 2013, Modern Healthcare listed Phoenix Children's as one of the largest children's hospitals in the country.[16] Phoenix Children's employs more than 220 pediatric specialists with more than 1,000 pediatric specialists on its Medical Staff and more than 1,000 FTEs on its nursing staff. This represents the largest pediatric group in the state of Arizona. The hospital also works in collaboration with Dignity Health and Mayo Clinic to provide more robust care in specialties related to cardiology, neurology, hematology/oncology and organ transplant.

The hospital has six Centers of Excellence: Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix Children's Heart Center, Center for Pediatric Orthopedics, Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Level One Pediatric Trauma Center,[17] and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Phoenix Children's Hospital patient tower at night.

Phoenix Children's is rated by U.S. News & World Report as a Best Children's Hospital and is ranked in 8 specialties listed by the report.[22] It was also named among the 2021 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America by Healthiest Employers.

Phoenix Children's recently achieved accreditation as an Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) Comprehensive Care Center from the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA), a nationwide organization dedicated to education, advocacy and research to improve the lives of those born with heart defects.

Children's Healthcare of Arizona, Inc., an Arizona 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, is the parent holding corporation for the majority voting member interest in Phoenix Children's Hospital. It manages the majority voting member interest in Phoenix Children's Hospital and provides strategic planning, policy and oversight functions.

Phoenix Children's is also an independent, Arizona 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, governed by a community board of directors.

Robert L. Meyer has served as president and CEO since 2002. He provides leadership over the organization's three major divisions.[24]

• List of children's hospitals in the United States

• Official site