Family offers land for new hospital in Nogales

NOGALES — To secure financing assistance for a new hospital from the City of Nogales, Carondelet Health Network has settled on property to be donated by the Escalada family southeast of the Oasis Towne Center.

In February, Mayor Ignacio J. Barraza and the city council told Richard Polheber, Carondelet CEO, that Nogales would not pursue a plan to help garner $7 million in financing for the project.

The offer had come from city officials during the administration of former Mayor Albert Kramer. They said a portion of revenues from a sales-tax increase last year would be earmarked to help secure the financing for the $20 million facility.

Barraza made it clear at a Feb. 27 study session, though, that if Carondelet wanted city support, the construction site, originally proposed near Ruby Road outside city limits, would have to be moved to Nogales.

Carondelet had pledged $10 million for the 25-bed facility, with at least $3 million to be raised locally from private and corporate donors. So far, about $2.1 million has been pledged in private and corporate funds.

The Bell family at no cost offered the original site, but the city’s help in financing the $7 million is critical to the project.

Enter Simon and Joe Escalada, whose family homesteaded here at the turn of the 20th century. They said they have agreed to donate the land for the benefit of the community and to help increase traffic in their own commercial development that boasts the Oasis Cinema, HomeTown Buffet, and Home Depot just west of the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The family has donated land in the past, including a parcel on Kelsey Street where the Nogales Housing Authority built several units. In the late 1950s the Escaladas donated a portion of their land for the road to the existing hospital on Target Range Road.

In an interview last week, Polheber said that the Escalada’s donation would help funds stretch further. He took the opportunity to recognize the Bell family as well for its efforts to support the project and being the first to step up to the plate with the land offer.

The Bell site was ideal because more and more hospital patients are coming from Rio Rico as the Nogales patient count continues a downward slide. It was seen as an optimal location between the two communities.

Nogales officials however questioned whether city financing should be spent outside city limits. The mayor and council also expressed concerns about the distance and the transportation challenge it would pose to low-income Nogales residents.

Queried last week about the prospects of the new site, Barraza said, “I am encouraged to hear the news that Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital has potentially identified a suitable site within the City of Nogales for the construction of their new medical facility. My office looks forward to continuing to work in tandem with hospital administrators and members of the city council in order to make this modern regional medical facility a reality for our community.”

The Bell property comprised more than 20 acres. But design and engineering phase of the project will determine exactly how much acreage the Escalada family will donate, said Simon Escalada. He said he envisions the hospital drawing future allied medical businesses to the development.

The Escalada brothers said they also hope plans to locate offices for the University of Arizona in Nogales come to fruition. They said luring the UA facility near the proposed hospital site, would be ideal, particularly for offering courses in nursing.

Hospital officials say plans call for an emergency room featuring at least 16 treatment areas, up from the current six areas. In addition, the facility will boast expanded labor and delivery quarters, operating rooms, and areas for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.

“Laboratory and X-ray will be expanded to include new modalities such as MRI and nuclear medicine,” Polheber said.

“The 10-year forecast, even with the growing population, suggests that a 25-bed hospital will adequately address the inpatient needs for the future,” he said.

The new hospital will be designed with greater efficiency, with enhanced focus on privacy and built for the future demands of this region, Polheber said.

It will be designed in such a way to expediently and cost-effectively add additional beds, as demand deems necessary, he said.

Manuel C. Coppola is editor and publisher of the Nogales International. Contact him at manuel.coppola@nogalesinternational.com.