EAST VALLEY HEALTHCARE BOOM ATTRACTS TALENT, INVESTMENT

PHOENIX ARIZONA REAL ESTATE

East Valley Healthcare Boom Attracts Talent, Investment

By AZBigMedia, azbigmedia.com | March 29, 2026

To craft a complex dish, a chef relies on the right combination of ingredients, each playing a specific role. In much the same way, companies consider precise factors before locating in a new region. One of the most important elements new and relocating businesses evaluate is healthcare.

“Healthcare very often is one of, if not the primary economic engine for organizations when they’re looking to relocate,” says Brian Kellar, chief executive officer at Banner Heart Hospital, Banner Baywood, Banner Ironwood and Banner Goldfield medical centers.

Recognizing the significant role healthcare plays as an economic driver, the PHX East Valley is well-positioned to support its growing healthcare infrastructure and leverage it as a powerful tool to attract companies and talent to the region.

Anticipating The Needs Of A Rapidly Expanding Region

PHX East Valley’s population hovers around 1.4 million, with another 400,000 people expected to call the region home by 2050. For healthcare ecosystems to thrive, they must evolve in tandem with population growth.

“Anticipation is critical,” Kellar says. “We have to be responsive and anticipate the needs of a community, sometimes even before they’re spoken. And that’s a talent of foresight that I call thinking fourth dimensionally.”

A key component of what Kellar describes as fourth-dimensional thinking is deeply understanding the communities in which healthcare organizations operate. “We have to understand the communities that we exist in because we’re a critical part of them,” he says.

Meeting Diverse Healthcare Needs

One way to measure the PHX East Valley’s ability to anticipate the needs of its growing communities is through the range of healthcare services available.

“Among our hospitals, we offer specialty services such as a level one trauma designation, high-end cardiac, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery and women’s health,” says Mario Garner, president of Dignity Health East Valley.

Banner Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert will be home to a new patient tower, expanded women and infant services (including a larger NICU), more labor and delivery (L&D) and postpartum rooms, in addition to enhanced surgery support and a reworked emergency department entrance.

In Mesa, Banner Desert Medical Center is also widening its women and infant services in L&D, C-section, ORs and OB triage.

Healthcare Expansion Keeps Pace With Population Growth

Many existing PHX East Valley healthcare facilities are expanding to accommodate new services and meet the needs of the growing region.

“As we passed Prop 409 in November of 2025, one of our initiatives through that was to make sure that we secured funding to continue to remodel and enlarge the federally qualified health center clinic that we currently have in Chandler,” says Michael White, chief clinical officer of Valleywise Health.

In Gilbert, where healthcare has become one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors, zoning and development strategies that support medical corridors and healthcare-focused districts continue to be a top priority.

“This includes allocating land near existing hospital campuses, such as the south Gilbert corridor anchored by Dignity Health Mercy Gilbert Medical Center,” says Dan Henderson, economic development director for Gilbert.

In addition to hospital campus expansion, Henderson says the town’s medical corridors continue to expand, noting the recent groundbreaking of Melrose Professional Park, which will deliver 120,000 square feet of Class A medical and office space adjacent to Dignity Health’s south campus. “Additionally, Celebration Medical Center is nearing completion this year, adding 68,000 square feet of Class A medical office space to this same corridor,” he says.

In neighboring Chandler, Dignity Health has undergone several expansions of current facilities, with plans for more.

“Chandler Regional Medical Center just expanded with 36 inpatient medical surgical telemetry beds to reach 465 licensed beds at Chandler Regional,” Garner says. “Chandler Regional is also adding an ambulatory care center in a new medical office building that is being constructed on the campus.”

Banner Desert and Banner Gateway Medical Center both recently went through expansions, with a campus expansion currently underway at Banner Ironwood Medical Center.

Circle the City has plans for a new 33,000-square-foot respite facility with approximately 85 respite beds on the campus of the former Velda Rose United Methodist Church in Mesa, serving underserved populations.

Shift In Care

Collectively, these investments reflect a shift toward long-term healthcare planning designed to support population growth, workforce needs and regional resilience.

But bricks, beds and technology alone do not define comprehensive healthcare.

As PHX East Valley grows, healthcare leaders increasingly emphasize that access, continuity and support for vulnerable populations are just as critical as physical expansion.

“Comprehensive healthcare means care for everyone in the community,” says Kim Despres, chief executive officer of Circle the City. “This includes people who are vulnerable, uninsured or experiencing homelessness. A healthy community isn’t just about hospitals and clinics, it’s about ensuring that no one falls through the cracks.”

Despres adds, “When a region invests in that kind of care, it creates stability, it keeps emergency rooms from being overwhelmed, helps patients recover safely rather than cycling through crisis, and ultimately makes a community more compassionate, resilient and attractive to families and employers.”

Collaboration Strengthens The Healthcare Ecosystem

Part of ensuring healthcare access and continuity of care is cultivated through collaboration. Collaboration among municipalities, educational institutions and local partners to bridge healthcare gaps is something the East Valley is known for accomplishing exceedingly well.

“Anytime you see a community thriving, it’s because private and public partners get together selflessly and recognize that the better we all are, the better we are individually,” Kellar says.

PHX East Valley’s prominent healthcare players partner with health-related nonprofits and educational institutions to ensure care is available across all socioeconomic communities.

“I think one of the best partnerships and collaborations that we have is with the hospitals,” Despres says. “We have a position called a Health Navigator that’s co-located in the emergency room at some of the hospitals in the East Valley. We partner with Banner and with HonorHealth. And so our health navigators, they’re working side by side with the case managers and the social workers.”

The health navigators work with hospital staff to help patients find a place to go once they’re discharged. In addition to helping them find a shelter, Circle the City’s health navigators can help find food sources, make an appointment at their outpatient clinic and try to make their recovery transition as smooth as possible.

Building The Healthcare Workforce Of The Future

A strong talent pipeline is what keeps a robust healthcare ecosystem thriving.

Arizona is rich in higher education institutions with healthcare and healthcare-related programs.

Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Grand Canyon University, Creighton University’s Phoenix campus, Arizona College of Nursing and the Maricopa Community Colleges are examples of educational outlets that produce talent to feed PHX East Valley’s healthcare workforce pipeline. Combined, they cover nursing, public health, medicine, allied health and more.

Many degree programs throughout the state’s higher education system are directly linked to the PHX East Valley hospitals and healthcare organizations.

“Growing the healthcare workforce through our graduate medical education program and partnership with Creighton University helps us to develop future medical professionals for the region,” Garner says. “Today, there are 85 total residents, physician residents in the following specialties: emergency medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, family medicine, as well as obstetrics and gynecology.”

Valleywise Health is also partnered with Creighton University, as well as the Arizona Health Education Alliance. White explains that this partnership enables future health professionals opportunities to experience a clinical learning environment.

Kellar explains that Banner not only works with a variety of universities, but also with nursing schools, CNA programs, post-acute and long-term care facilities, where students can get their clinicals done on-site. “We want to help people discover the careers of serving other people selflessly, and that’s what we do in healthcare,” he says.

Strengthening The Workforce

Banner also provides scholarship programs for employees who aspire to go to nursing school or to get a certification.

The Town of Gilbert is heavily invested in producing future healthcare talent, working closely with universities and other higher education healthcare systems, including the Maricopa Community College District. This includes providing annual scholarships for students pursuing healthcare and emerging technologies.

“Gilbert’s strong STEM talent base and focus on innovation and biotech industries are creating a sustainable foundation for long-term economic growth and success,” Henderson says.

Evaluating a region’s healthcare workforce availability serves a double purpose for many companies, especially when it comes to quality of life.

“Addressing other local needs. For growing companies, access to high-quality care can align with the organizational workforce demographics needs,” Garner notes, “and it can be a strategic consideration when considering positioning for the company within that geography.”

The takeaway?

PHX East Valley has the specialty components needed in a recipe for healthcare success. A commitment to long-term planning, expanding services and facilities, collaboration and community partnerships and feeding the workforce pipeline are keeping pace with a growing region and driving economic development.

– more at azbigmedia.com