If you are headed to the emergency room, chances are, you need attention in a hurry.
At Exceptional Community Hospital, the facility addressed that need and opened its Fast Track emergency room over the summer.

The project itself was on a fast track, completed less than eight months after the hospital’s opening in December 2021.

The new emergency room is designed to reduce wait times and will be available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Exceptional Community Hospital, 19060 N. John Wayne Pkwy., is committed to concierge care, which includes minimal to no wait times for patients.

The new emergency room was another step for Maricopa’s first hospital.

At the end of 2021, ECH-Maricopa’s 20,000-square-foot Phase 1 debuted with a state-of-the-art facility that includes a specialty internal-medicine hospital; digital imaging suite, including CT Scan, X-Ray, mobile MRI and ultrasound; in-house laboratory as well as outpatient and inpatient hospital beds for acute admissions and overnight observation of patients.

Additionally, in partnership with higher-level hospitals in the Phoenix area, Exceptional Community Hospital features a landing area for air ambulances to ensure the fastest transfer of patients needing a higher level of care.

The ceremonial ribbon-cutting at Exceptional Community Hospital-Maricopa earlier this year ushered in more than a new era for the city with its first hospital. It provided a glimpse into the future growth of that hospital.

Related: Gallery: Exceptional Health Ribbon Cutting Ceremony – InMaricopa

More to come
According to Saeed Mahboubi, CEO of Exceptional Health Care, even with those capabilities, the community is ready for more services, and Exceptional is preparing to provide them.

Saeed Mahboubi speaking at the Exceptional Community Hospital ribbon-cutting. [Brian Petersheim Jr.]

“Phase 2 will be just north of the existing building and will include additional rooms attached to the hospital — mostly in-patient rooms and emergency department,” Mahboubi said. “That’s where we’re lacking space.

So, we’ll have more rooms, and Phase 2 also will include an OB/GYN department. Then Phase 3 will be surgery and medical office space.”

The Phase 2 and 3 expansion is on top of an already-announced expansion of services within the existing hospital walls.

Exceptional began its initial expansion just weeks after opening its doors. That expansion, into a space left vacant by design so the hospital could react to the specific needs of the community, will help the hospital implement its “Fast Track” care option that will help the ED reduce wait times and lighten the patient load in the triage area.

“Although we have been open only a few weeks, we saw an opportunity to improve efficiency and care inside the Emergency Department,” Mahboubi said when the initial expansion was announced. “This will not only speed up the time it takes for patients to be treated, but also improve care times for our more critical patients.”

The hospital already is proving to be a huge benefit to all parts of the community. Robert Miguel, Chairman of the Ak-Chin Community, said a hospital was long overdue.

“Finally,” Miguel said. “I mean, really, finally. I was born and raised here before we had anything up and to finally have a facility to care for not only Maricopa but also Ak-Chin has been much needed for a long time, so this is definitely a dream come true for the citizens of Maricopa and the members of Ak-Chin.”

All plans are welcome
Mahboubi said Exceptional Community Hospital-Maricopa, accepts all insurance plans.

“Exceptional Community Hospital—Maricopa honors all in-network benefits for emergency services provided to our patients,” he said. “We bill in-network copayments, deductibles and coinsurance. We accept all commercial insurance plans and any Medicare, Medicaid (ACCCHS), TriCare plans and HIS/Tribal and VA plans. Exceptional Community Hospital-Maricopa is state licensed but is pending Medicare certification. Once Medicare is certified we will bill for services after the Medicare participation date. Medicare, Medicaid and TriCare services will not be billed to insurance or the patient prior to Medicare certification.”

The new hospital is situated in the heart of Maricopa on State Route 347 at the south end of the overpass. The 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility includes nine in-patient rooms and eight emergency room treatment rooms allowing those sick or injured in town to receive emergency treatment without a half hour hospital ride to Chandler or Casa Grande.

Mahboubi said insurance network status should not affect the hospital’s ability to provide care to anyone who needs it.

“We do not balance bill patients for any amounts in excess of in-network benefit patient costs, thus network status with health plans should not hinder access to emergency care for any insured community member,” he said. “We appreciate people choosing Exceptional Community Hospital in Maricopa, and we are dedicated to providing expert medical care for the entire community and all those patients in need.”

Award-winning care
This year, Exceptional Community Hospital earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Hospital Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.

Related: Exceptional Community Hospital earns ‘Gold Seal’ accreditation – InMaricopa

Exceptional Community Hospital [Bryan Mordt]
Exceptional Community Hospital underwent a rigorous, unannounced, onsite review June 1-2. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with hospital standards spanning several areas including emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, medication management, and rights and responsibilities of the individual.

The Joint Commission’s standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. They are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help health care organizations measure, assess and improve performance. The surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

“As a private accreditor, The Joint Commission surveys health care organizations to protect the public by identifying deficiencies in care and working with those organizations to correct them as quickly and sustainably as possible,” said Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Exceptional Community Hospital for its continuous quality improvement efforts in patient safety and quality of care.”

 

This sponsored content was first published in the Health Guide, which first published alongside the October edition of InMaricopa magazine.