Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center, 1955 W. Frye Road in Chandler, recently held a special dedication prior to the opening of its newest patient-care tower, Tower D.

Designed to respond to the growing East Valley community’s increasing health care needs, this is the hospital’s second major expansion in less than a decade. Tower D is scheduled to open to patients early next month, according to a release.

“This expansion project is very exciting for all of us at Chandler Regional and for the community at-large,” Mark Slyter, president and CEO of Dignity Health Chandler Regional and Mercy Gilbert Medical Centers, said in the release. “It is a direct result of the outstanding care our team provides. Their hard work and dedication are why people seek services at Chandler Regional and why the hospital has continued to undergo tremendous growth.”

Tower D will serve as the hospital’s main entrance and include 96 additional patient care beds. This will bring Chandler Regional’s total bed count to 429, providing greater access to excellent, and compassionate care. The structure includes:

• First floor: a new main hospital entrance and lobby, patient admitting, cardiac rehabilitation, ambulatory therapy unit, gift shop and chapel;
• Second floor: a surgery registration area, pre-operation and post-anesthesia care units and 24 thoracic patient rooms;
• Third floor: 36 intensive care unit patient rooms;
• Fourth floor: 36 standard patient rooms;
• Fifth floor: shell space for future beds; and
• Basement: new pharmacy, materials management department and a new loading dock.

In addition to the new five-story Tower D, the construction project includes a new parking structure with additional surface parking to accommodate more than 1,100 vehicles and renovations to existing space that will allow for eight new surgical suites, and the expansion of key outpatient services and operational departments.

Chandler Regional first opened in 1961 as a community hospital with only 42 beds but has steadily grown over the last five decades. In the summer of 2014, Chandler Regional opened the first of its major expansions of the last decade, Tower C, which provided space for the hospital’s Level One Trauma Center and 96 additional patient beds.

“We’re excited to see what our team will accomplish as we settle into this next evolution of growth on our campus,” Slyter said. “The new tower will not only bring a large number of new jobs to the East Valley, but it will allow us to further our commitment to provide the best care possible to our growing community.”

Devenney Group Architects and McCarthy Building Companies served as the project’s design build team. Others on the project included WSP, Stantec, RVi, Buehler Engineering, Cannon & Wendt Electrical Co., TDIndustries, The Berg Group, and Schuff Steel Management Co..