El Rio revives long-closed Tucson hospital

The 95,000-square-foot center, at 4888 N. Stone Ave., will serve up to 22,000 patients.

The former hospital, on Stone Avenue and East River Road, had been vacant for 14 years. It was gutted and redeveloped by Meridian and Tenet Healthcare, BWS Architects and Barker Contracting.

Local broker Richard Kleiner, with Picor, initiated and negotiated the deal on behalf of El Rio and Meridian.

Employees from El Rio’s Northwest Health Center, at 320 W. Prince Road, will transfer to the new location, along with more than 18,000 patients, when the Stone Avenue facility opens June 1.

The center expects to add providers and employees to support up to 4,000 patients in the coming year.

“We are at a critical juncture where the needs of our community for healthcare are growing exponentially,” said Clinton Kuntz, president and CEO of El Rio Health. “This is especially true for people facing challenging times. El Rio Health has been caring for the community for over 55 years (and) we are committed and passionate about serving our patients and community.”

The project was funded, in part, by charitable support, with the majority coming from the Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation.

With a goal of raising $10 million, donors – including El Rio employees – committed $17.2 million toward the project, with an additional investment of $45 million by El Rio, bond financing and a $1.45 million grant from Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.

The new center will provide primary medical and dental services for children and adults, and a behavioral health department that will include a pediatric / youth health team and new psychiatry residents.

The center will also have onsite mammography, lab, x-ray, same-day clinic, physical therapy and community resource referrals.

It will also be El Rio’s first location to have a drive-through pharmacy.

Serving more than 130,000 patients, El Rio is one of the largest community health care centers in the country, with services to people with insurance or without, on a sliding-fee scale.

The former Tucson Heart Hospital opened in Tucson in 1997.

It became Carondelet Heart & Vascular Institute in 2010, and Carondelet moved the institute to St. Mary’s Hospital, 1601 W. St. Mary’s Road, in 2012. The building had been vacant since then.