Here for Everyone: World-Class Care Within Reach
High quality, accessible, affordable health care is a vital component of a thriving community, and yet many Americans do not get the health care services they need. About 1 in 10 people in the United States lack health insurance, making them less likely to have a primary care provider and to afford services and medications. Those without a primary care provider are also less likely to get preventative care such as routine cancer screenings, blood work and other tests that can detect and treat problems early. And in our sprawling region, many people live far from health care providers and lack transportation, presenting additional barriers to care.
The outcome of these investments will be inclusive, world-class, highly specialized care close to where our patients live and work — with shorter wait times, easier scheduling, clear communication, and greater convenience.
To help all Arizonans access the high quality care they need and deserve, Banner is committed to expanding points of care—including primary care, urgent care, imaging, physical therapy, pharmacies, surgery, and in-patient hospitals—throughout the state. We are also committed to improving the quality of care provided by our professionals by recruiting and retaining top talent, supporting our workforce, and offering paths for education and career growth to fill high-need clinical care roles.
This work requires both capital investments to construct state-of-theart medical facilities, along with investments in workforce development initiatives designed to attract and retain the most talented professionals to deliver high-quality care. Because a talented, engaged, diverse, and inclusive workforce is critical to delivering exceptional patient care, Banner has also made it a priority to support the clinical professionals already on our teams—professionally, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
The outcome of these investments will be inclusive, world-class, highly specialized care close to where our patients live and work—with shorter wait times, easier scheduling, clear communication, and greater convenience.
YOUR PARTNERSHIP IS CRUCIAL TO OUR SUCCESS
Building on our clinical excellence and vast scope of services, we now need to make unprecedented investments to turn our vision for equitable, accessible, world-class care for everyone into a reality. Your partnership is crucial to our success. Through the campaign, we will make strategic new investments in medical facilities, equipment and technology, and recruitment and retention of top talent. Philanthropic investment from donors and community partners is critical to the success of these initiatives, allowing us to expand and innovate at a pace not otherwise possible.
Investment opportunities are detailed on the following pages.
Commemorative naming is available to recognize significant gifts.
INNOVATION & RESEARCH
High Reliability Organization Initiative
Initiative Goal: $5,000,000
Banner is on a journey to become a High Reliability Organization (HRO): organizations that operate in complex, high-hazard domains for extended periods without serious accidents or catastrophic failures. Examples of HROs include the nuclear industry, commercial aviation, and aircraft carriers. Those industries experienced cultural transformations over several decades leading to significant safety improvements. The health care sector is now embracing the High Reliability Organization approach which focuses on key principles like sensitivity to operations, preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify, resilience, and deference to expertise.
Philanthropic support will allow Banner to create and deliver education and communication resources for all leaders and team members on high reliability behaviors and skills. It will enable listening, acting, and measuring continuous feedback and actions all team members take to support an environment that delivers consistently safe, high quality care and service. These practices and programs will cultivate behavior changes to help Banner become the safest health system in the country — impacting every one of our patients.
Technology and Digital Infrastructure Fund
Initiative Goal: $68,000,000
Banner’s mission of making health care easier, so life can be better is the driver behind our passion for continued growth and innovation. Our patients can benefit from digital health solutions that provide them with easier access to care, customized and predictive health services, direct contact with their providers, real-time monitoring of health metrics, personalized digital experiences, and streamlined access to personal health records.
Banner Health is dedicated to delivering value for patients and improving care efficiency by developing and growing its digital infrastructure and products. This includes innovations such as highly personalized online patient and member portals, health wearables, telehealth services, on-demand medical services solutions, advanced disease history analysis, and utilizing Generative AI to automate record-keeping tasks while eliminating human error, perform predictive diagnostics, and create personalized patient treatment plans. Banner is also ensuring that we invest in technological advancements that support our health care workforce’s ability to provide excellent patient care in the safest, most efficient way possible by enabling system integration and automation solutions.
Philanthropic investment in the digital transformation at Banner will spark innovation and accelerate the creation of new solutions that are not feasible with operational funding alone. To become the top destination for health care across Arizona and beyond, we need to be on the leading edge of technology, making it simpler, faster, and more convenient for patients to manage their health and care in partnership with Banner.
CARE
Expanding Access to Care Capital and programmatic investment in the following expansion projects will make care more accessible in rapidly growing communities across Arizona:
WEST VALLEY ACCESS Total Initiative Goal: $60,000,000
Banner Thunderbird Medical Center Expansion, Glendale
Initiative Goal: $43,000,000
Banner Estrella Medical Center Expansion, Southwest Phoenix
Initiative Goal: $7,000,000
Banner Health Center plus, Goodyear
Initiative Goal: $5,000,000
Banner Health Center plus, Buckeye (Verrado)
Initiative Goal: $6,000,000
More than 1.7 million people live in the 15 communities that make up the West Valley, and more than 50% of growth in Maricopa County within the next 25 years will take place in this region. To meet the needs of this rapidly increasing population, Banner seeks to expand the capacity of Banner Thunderbird Medical Center with a new five-story patient tower. With 13 OB triage rooms, three C-Section operating rooms, 16 labor and delivery rooms, 14 additional NICU beds and expansion of the pediatric Emergency Department, this expansion will make Banner Thunderbird the West Valley’s hub for women’s and children’s health. The hospital will also be able to perform a higher volume of surgeries with 19 operating rooms and 56 pre-operative and post-anesthesia care rooms. The redesigned lobby will welcome patients and families, and additional bays in the adult Emergency Department will better accommodate the patient volume at this busy hospital.
As the southwest region of Phoenix continues its rapid population growth, Banner Estrella Medical Center plays a key role as Banner’s only hospital in the area. Women and infant services are a cornerstone of this medical campus. Expansion plans include build-out and equipment to add 36 Progressive Care Unit patient rooms. Vacated space will be renovated to create a new 12-bed Surgical Intensive Care Unit. Plans also include redesigning the women and infant services unit to add two new labor and delivery rooms and a new c-section operating room and recovery area, with the ability to further expand as obstetric delivery demand grows in this region.
Following the successful Banner Health Center plus model of one-stop care now operating at New River Trails in Glendale and in the Arcadia area of Phoenix, this 56,000-sf center will include primary care, cardiovascular and orthopedic specialties, along with a Banner Imaging center, greatly expanding access to care in the Southwest region.
This new facility in the Verrado area will expand access to care in the rapidly growing Buckeye community.
CARE
Banner Desert
Medical Center Expansion, Mesa
Initiative Goal: $30,000,000 EAST VALLEY ACCESS Total Initiative Goal: $30,000,000
Home to a Level I Trauma Center and one of the busiest Emergency Departments in the United States, the Banner Desert Medical Center campus commonly operates at maximum in-patient capacity, creating operational challenges that limit the campus’s ability to grow and serve the needs of the bustling East Valley.
A new women’s tower opened in January 2023 to house all labor and delivery services and women’s surgery, creating a destination center for women and infants in the East Valley. The tower is adjacent to the existing Banner Children’s patient tower, providing easy access for the unique health care needs of women and children of all ages. With modern patient care and procedural spaces, the tower features 148 new state-of-the-art inpatient rooms, including a new Labor & Delivery unit for low- and highrisk deliveries, and 108 medical/surgical rooms dedicated to women’s care and recovery. It also includes a dedicated OB triage unit, new C-section operating rooms, including support for women carrying multiples, and a Lactation Boutique offering supplies and lactation services by boardcertified lactation consultant nurses.
With the move of women and infant services to their new home, philanthropic support will allow us to refresh the newly vacated spaces on the campus, converting them into adult medical-surgical beds to accommodate more people in need of acute care. Further renovations will create a larger observation unit and a new 20-bed Intensive Care Unit to care for the most critically ill patients.
CARE
NORTHEAST VALLEY ACCESS
Total Initiative Goal: $15,000,000
Banner Scottsdale Medical Campus
Initiative Goal: $15,000,000
Expected to open in 2026, the Banner Scottsdale medical campus will help meet the surging demand for additional doctors, nurses, and medical facilities in one of the fastest growing areas of the Valley. At full build-out, the medical campus will create more than 2,500 jobs, making a $750 million direct investment into the Scottsdale economy. Developed in collaboration with the City of Scottsdale, the campus will feature a timeless design and unmatched quality.
The first phase includes a Banner Health Center plus, a one-stop-shop for outpatient care offering pharmacy, imaging, primary and specialty physician services, and will include a Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. Our clinical partner, MD Anderson Cancer Center, has been named one of the top two hospitals in cancer care every year since U.S. News & World Report began its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” rankings in 1990. We are proud to partner with a national leader in cancer care to deliver an unmatched level of care in Scottsdale. The Banner Scottsdale medical campus will ease commute times and seamlessly provide the outpatient services this community needs — all in one place.
TALENT
Workforce Growth and Development
Initiative Goal: $15,000,000
High-quality, accessible, affordable health care is a vital component of a thriving community. However, today’s health care workforce — both in the United States and across the globe — is facing an array of challenges while health care systems are under increasing financial pressure. Shifting demographics, workforce disruptors like artificial intelligence, changes in care delivery, clinician burnout, high labor costs, and staffing shortages pose serious challenges to the ability of health care systems, like Banner Health, to provide the care our communities need.
A talented, engaged, and inclusive workforce is critical to delivering exceptional patient care, and Banner Health has made it a priority to support employees—professionally, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Banner is committed to engaging and growing our most valuable resource — our workforce — by offering opportunities for ongoing education, training, reskilling, professional development, mentorships, and career growth. This includes programs and services to support employees’ physical and mental well-being. Philanthropic investment from donors and community partners is critical to the success of these initiatives, as these activities fall outside the traditional model of care delivery and reimbursement.
TALENT
Career Pathways and Apprenticeships
Initiative Goal: $10,000,000
The Career Pathways and Apprenticeship programs are helping to upskill and reskill lower-wage employees to serve in high-need roles, supporting them in attaining the required education, training, and certifications to build sustainable, long-term careers. Entry-level workers in areas like environmental services (housekeeping/janitorial), culinary (cafeteria/food service), and call-center roles often lack access to the financial and logistical resources to pursue additional education at their own expense. Career Pathways & Apprenticeships offers both the social and financial capital needed for low-wage health care workers to advance their careers and boost their self-sufficiency, which leads to more equitable opportunities and greater earning potential for these team members over time.
Initially funded by an American Rescue Plan Act grant, the Career Pathways Program successfully launched its first phase in 2022 in four Banner medical facilities, helping select workers to envision, map out, and create sustainable careers in a variety of high-need roles like Certified Nursing Assistant, Certified Medical Assistant, and Certified Sterile Processing Technician. Philanthropic investment allows the team to continuously add new pathways to the program and expand geographically across Arizona and Colorado. Program participants reflect the communities in which Banner serves, with the largest groups being: 47% Hispanic or Latino, 31% White, 7% Black or African American, and 78% female. At the center of our Career Pathways and Apprenticeship programs is a dedicated effort to diversify and fortify the workforce. Banner Health is working to ensure that our career opportunities are visible and accessible to diverse team members who bring rich experiences, unique perspectives, varied backgrounds, and critical foreignlanguage skills to their roles. Recent growth includes a path to becoming a Registered Nurse — among the most important roles in care delivery, and one facing a critical shortage. About 100,000 registered nurses have left the workforce since 2021 due to stress, burnout, and retirement, and another 610,388 reported an intent to leave by 2027, according to a study by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
Providing the financial and logistical support for professionals interested in pursuing careers in health care to attain the required education, training, certifications and clinical rotations will feed the pipeline of health care workers for the future.
TALENT
Youth Internships and Immersive Experiences in Health Care
Initiative Goal: $7,000,000
Educational Scholarships
Initiative Goal: $30,000,000
Building the pipeline of professionals considering health care careers means starting early. A variety hands-on immersive experiences, youth internships, and career technical education options give high school students a view into future career possibilities in health care. Philanthropic support makes these programs possible and available to all students with interest, regardless of their financial means. Examples of these efforts include introducing STEM careers and opportunities to BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color), offering internships to high school students, and holding summer camps for 7th and 8th graders in partnership with Title I schools and districts. Immersion programs can lead to career and technical education, certification programs, and tuition assistance funds that create new employment opportunities for individuals who may not have otherwise considered or understood potential career options in health care.
Scholarships help Banner Health team members of all levels obtain additional education, technical certifications, and specific training to move into important roles in health care. Scholarships also help nurses, therapists, and other clinical professionals gain advanced degrees and certifications, and learn new skills that are applicable in new care environments where staffing needs are high.
At the heart of life is health. And at the heart of health is Banner.
You can help us continue offering the very best care to our diverse communities. Planned philanthropic investments in Health Care Access & Quality as part of the campaign total $240 million. With your philanthropic support, Banner will make strategic new investments that put world-class care within reach of more Arizona residents, expand the ways patients can find care and remain healthy, build the most talented workforce in the nation to deliver compassionate, expert care, and train our workforce in emerging areas of medicine, caring for diverse populations, and providing inclusive care for all.