McCarthy Wraps New Arizona Emergency Department

By Eric Althoff

SUN CITY, Ariz.—General contractor McCarthy Building Companies has finished construction of the new emergency department at the Banner Boswell Medical Center, located in Phoenix’s northwestern suburbs. The new 40,000-square-foot center began accepting patients in October.

The emergency department increased the medical center’s capacity from 42 to 56 beds, which the hospital estimated would translate into being able to care for 60,000 extra patients per year.

The emergency center is just one piece of a $106 million expansion to the Banner Boswell Medical Center, which also entails a 322,000-square-foot patient tower being built from the ground up. The first floor of that patient tower is scheduled to be online in the early part of 2021, and will entail the admitting desk, chapel as well as retail space and a gift shop. Five floors above the lobby level will be reserved specifically for inpatient rooms to be opened at a future date.

McCarthy maintains they were able to save both time and money by prefabricating 625 wall panels for the Banner Boswell project prior to delivery to the jobsite—which also was undertaken for safety reasons so as to allow for social distancing measures in the coronavirus pandemic. Every panel was 8 feet tall by 30 feet wide, and the weight of each panel was over a ton. More than 100 of the prefabricated panels were placed on the medical facility’s interior alone.

McCarthy estimates this prefabrication saved three months in the ultimate timeline of construction work.

“We knew it was critical for Banner Boswell to open early and in time for the busy fall and winter season, and we’re thrilled to meet that goal,” Chris Nickle, executive vice president of McCarthy Building Companies, said in a recent statement.

McCarthy worked on the medical facility alongside designer HMC Architects.

“We are thrilled about the extra capacity that will serve the growing needs of the community for generations to come,” Sharon Lind, CEO of Banner Boswell Medical Center, said in a recent statement. “This new ED and patient tower lobby will truly transform our Boswell campus and create a welcoming experience.”