West Valley families now have a closer option for children’s medical care. Phoenix Children’s Hospital on Wednesday opened a new emergency departmentin Avondale.
The youngest patients tend to have better outcomes when they’re treated in pediatric hospitals, rather than general emergency departments, said Dr. Christina Conrad, medical director for Phoenix Children’s Emergency Department – Avondale.
“It’s child-friendly. We have child life specialists in our emergency department to help talk a child through a procedure that they may be getting. And we have a lot of equipment that’s specialized just for children," Conrad said.
The new 40-bed emergency department is the second for Phoenix Children’s, in addition to its main campus on Thomas Road near downtown Phoenix. That location had been taking a lot of transfers from West Valley hospitals. Conrad hopes those patients can now access pediatric emergency care more quickly.
“I think it’s important that we can bring those specialized services closer to home because, as you can imagine, if you have a child who’s having an emergency, the last thing you want is to have that additional drive time while you’re worried about them in the back seat the entire time,” Conrad said.
The Avondale emergency department is designed to handle up to 50,000 visits per year. The Avondale campus also includes a clinic with more than 20 pediatric specialty departments, which opened in January.
