Tucson Medical Center Opens Renovated Emergency Department
Tucson Medical Center completed a $27 million renovation of its Emergency Department, adding 40 new adult treatment areas and bringing total adult beds to 72. The project overhauls a facility originally built in 1990 for a significantly smaller patient volume. The emergency department, which handles both adult and pediatric patients, serves more than 100,000 people annually.
Racetrack Layout and Internal Imaging Improve Patient Flow
The redesigned space features a racetrack-style layout centered around a nursing station designed to improve patient flow, staff visibility, and handoffs from emergency medical services. Imaging equipment, including a CT scanner and X-ray rooms, now sits directly inside the department. This placement allows medical teams to image, diagnose, and start treatment without leaving the emergency area.
You’re talking about folks having the worst day of their lives, right? We need to do the best job we possibly can to fulfill that need,
said Bill Meyer, integration architect at TMC Health.
We don’t have to leave the emergency department,
Meyer said. Combined with technology in the room and at the nurses’ desks, we have the ability to increase the amount of quality care that we give our patients and decrease the time.
Specialized Rooms and AI Tools Increase Bedside Care
The updated facility includes five large medical rooms designated for critically ill patients to accommodate larger care teams. Doctors are also utilizing telenursing capabilities and an artificial intelligence dictation tool. With patient consent, the tool allows physicians to securely dictate notes and discharge paperwork through their phones to reduce charting time and increase time at the bedside.
For patients experiencing mental health crises, the renovation adds four specialized behavioral health rooms equipped with ligature-resistant features and private settings. The rooms feature standard medical exam technology housed within safeguarded structures, including televisions enclosed in plastic and specialized restrooms.
Funding Sources for the Expansion
The $27 million project relied on multiple funding streams, including bond financing, donations to the TMC Health Foundation, and grant funding. Pima County also contributed a $6.3 million investment through the American Rescue Plan Act. County funds supported the design, equipment purchases, digital infrastructure, demolition work, and medical record integration.
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