In rural southern Arizona, people often travel an hour or more to Tucson for treatment. But new federal funding to expand the hospital in Bisbee will bring more people closer to home.
Copper Queen Community Hospital received a $10 million federal grant to help expand the facility to serve 28,000 residents, according to Arizona Senator Kirsten Cinema and Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly. brought benefits.
The expansion will consist of the construction of a two-story facility connected to the hospital’s existing facilities, with a state-of-the-art surgical department, new inpatient units and upgraded patient rooms. Hospital room modernization also includes the addition of safety equipment to assist nursing staff.
Last week, Cinema and Kelly announced a grant from the USDA’s Emergency Rural Health Grant Program.
“Today’s funding will expand Copper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee, improve access to quality healthcare for people in southeastern Arizona, and promote economic opportunity in the region,” Cinema said in a news release. rice field.
Robert Simon, CEO of Copper Queen Community Hospital, said the hospital upgrades will also help hire more surgeons.
He noted that the additional workforce would partially alleviate the need for patients to travel 160 miles to Tucson for treatment.
The expansion comes as local hospital closures become the norm. According to a 2022 study by the American Hospital Association, 136 rural hospitals will close between 2010 and 2021, threatening access to healthcare in communities across the country. just last year Green Valley Hospital Also close the door.
Copper Queen Community Hospital is bucking that trend. The expansion of the hospital “will allow us to admit patients sooner, which will allow us to perform surgeries and endoscopies at the same time,” Siemon said.
In addition to expanding its surgical department, the hospital plans to expand its orthopedic program to include joint replacement surgery, which the hospital currently does not have space for.
A $23 million expansion project is currently in the planning stages and is expected to break ground next year. Additional funding will come from hospitals and fundraising efforts led by the Copper Queen Community Hospital Foundation.
Hospital officials recognized the need for expansion five years ago, recognizing that the building was aging and that the hospital needed more space to carry out the procedures required by residents.
“Arizonans in every corner of our state need access to quality health care. We stand ready to leverage the investments that will enable us to provide good care,” Kelly said in a news release. “This funding will improve the health of thousands of Arizonans who call Cochise County home.”
Please contact reporter Sara Lapidus. sarah.lapidus@gannett.com.
The Republic’s Southern Arizona coverage is partially funded by a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation. supportjournalism.azcentral.com.
