Mercy Gilbert hospital getting Phoenix Children's unit

• The 22-bed pediatric inpatient unit will have Phoenix Children's Hospital physicians based around the clock
• The move is a result of a community outcry by parents and physicians in the area
• East Valley's children also are served by Banner Health Cardon Children's Medical Center in Mesa, among others

Three years after closing its pediatric unit, Dignity Health's Mercy Gilbert Medical Center has announced plans to open a new one operated by Phoenix Children's Hospital in October.

The move is a result of a community outcry by parents and physicians in the area, said Dr. Ryan Bode, a PCH spokesman.

Bode said that the hospital realized "that not every asthmatic, pneumonia and gastroenteritis patient that lives in the East Valley needs to drive all the way downtown to be hospitalized at the main campus."

He added: "We're going to bring that same level of quality care, safety and expertise closer to the East Valley home."

Tim Bricker, president and CEO of Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, said it is "a long term investment in the community."

"The partnership between Dignity Health and Phoenix Children's is unique and will bring resources out to this part of the community that we just don't have enough," he said.

The former pediatric unit at Mercy Gilbert averaged about seven patients per day over three years before it was closed in June 2011, soon after PCH and Dignity Health entered into an alliance.

In the absence of in-house physicians, acute patients were transferred to a specialized children's hospital such as PCH or Cardon Children's Medical Center in Mesa.

The new 22-bed nursing unit on the first floor of Mercy Gilbert will be PCH-licensed, which means that its physicians will be based in-house around the clock. Other staffers, such as nurses and respiratory therapists, will be available and a pharmacy will be established there as well.

Bricker, a Gilbert resident who has 17-year-old twin daughters, said it means peace of mind for parents.

"For those of us who live out here, we hope that our children never need access to those resources, but it sure brings peace of mind to know that we have that resource in the community," he said.

The East Valley's children also are served by facilities such Phoenix Children's East Valley Center in Mesa, which offers specialty, urgent care and outpatient surgery, a Phoenix Children's Medical Group specialty care center on the Mercy Gilbert campus and Banner Health Cardon Children's Medical Center in Mesa.