A construction project underway at the Benson Hospital entrance will double the size of the facility’s main lobby while adding a large conference room to the front of the building.
The combined project adds 2,700 square feet to the hospital and represents one of three major expansion projects in recent years.
The first phase started in 2021 with a $4.1 million imaging suite that was completed in March 2022. The new imaging suite allowed the hospital to add a state-of-the-art computed tomography (CT) imaging scanner, updated X-ray equipment, an ultrasound and a dual X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, which is used to measure bone density and strength.
“Our imaging team was able to double volumes in 2022 with the new imaging space and technology,” said Ashley Dickey, the hospital’s human resources and marketing director. “The state-of-the-art equipment has been a huge asset for our patients and staff.”
Construction crews are now working on the hospital’s new entrance, visible from Ocotillo Road.
Total cost for the entrance and additional space is $1.7 million, with the project fully funded by Benson Hospital, Dickey said.
Aaron Koreny, a superintendent with Barker Contracting of Tucson, has been on site at the hospital for two years, overseeing the construction.
“The new entrance design has doubled the space of the lobby and will increase the overall footprint of the hospital significantly,” Koreny said.
Three executive offices for the hospital’s administrative team are included in the new entrance and conference area addition.
The conference room will have a large patio entrance with native landscaping and public access from the front of the building.
“Our plan is to allow the community to utilize the conference space,” Dickey said. “It’s a 1,000-square-foot conference room that holds more than 50 people. There’s a need for these kinds of meeting spaces in our community. Right now, we don’t have a big enough room to meet with our entire leadership team, so we’re excited about allowing our teams to meet face-to-face in a comfortable, aesthetically pleasing area.”
The entrance project and conference room are expected to be completed by the end of February.
In addition to the new imaging suite and entrance construction, the hospital has gone through a number of “less noticeable” structural improvements, including replacing the entire fire alarm and HVAC systems along with electrical upgrades and replacing an outdated generator, Koreny said.
A ring road that was completed with the imaging suite starts north of the hospital property and encircles the building, allowing convenient access to the outpatient entrance from either direction.
A 3,000-square-foot purchasing building represents another addition to the hospital campus.
“Prior to completing the purchasing building, we were forced to house all of our inventory inside the hospital, in a cramped 300-square-foot space,” Dickey said. “We now have a spacious purchasing warehouse that holds all of our inventory and equipment.”
The hospital’s two purchasing employees, Terri Mueller and Kelly Wilson, talked about the improvements the new storage area provides.
Standing before floor-to-ceiling shelves full of supplies, Wilson described some of the challenges they faced before the new purchasing warehouse was constructed.
“We’ve gone from 300 square feet to 3,000, so we’ve been able to bring in much more stock and supply than we ever used to,” Wilson said. “What we were doing before, is we were keeping equipment in closets and tight places in the hospital building where we had very little storage space. This is such an improvement.”
The $400,000 metal structure was also fully funded by the hospital.
“The addition of the purchasing warehouse freed up enough space in the hospital to allow us to expand skilled nursing and inpatient services,” Dickey said. “That space is being used for services like cardiac rehabilitation, speech and occupational therapy.”
Once completed, the hospital entrance will be the medical facility’s final construction project.
“Along with all of the construction, all of the in-patient rooms have been completely remodeled,” Koreny said.
The hospital’s new entrance will give the hospital a professional new look that greatly enhances its first impression, while streamlining the patient check-in process, Koreny said.
“All of the extra square footage added to the hospital over this two-year expansion has allowed us to enhance the services we offered while adding new service lines,” Dickey said. “Between the new construction and remodel projects, about 10,000 square feet has been added to the hospital. This hospital was built in 1960 and needed a major makeover. It’s exciting to see what these expansions and improvements are bringing to patient care in our area.”
