New Medical Center to Open in Laveen

It may not be the full-service hospital residents have requested for many years, but more medical services will soon arrive in Laveen.

At 3,600 square feet, the Laveen Medical Pavilion will be located on the northeast corner of Southern and 35^th Avenues. The facility is being developed by members of My Sister My Friend, a South Mountain-area nonprofit started in 2005 to promote the enrichment of at-risk children, individuals and families throughout south central Phoenix.

When Ann Glover, a South Mountain resident and the director/founder of My Sister My Friend, initiated the idea of opening a medical center, she realized the Laveen area had the greatest need. Glover’s concept for the community health center is to bridge medical care with social services in a co-located environment.

“Our target population in the culturally diverse population in the Laveen and Estrella Mountain area,” said Luis Gonzales, director of programs for My Sister My Friend. “We’re going to serve a cross-income culture. It’ll be low income. It’ll be people off the streets. It’ll be men, women and children – whoever else needs medical treatment.”

Gonzales added that Laveen has been designated by the federal government as a medically underserved area with a shortage of medical professionals.

“That’s why this is a perfect location for the medical center,” he stressed.

Funding for the medical center came from a grant awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agency that helps improve access to healthcare services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable. In addition to the medical facility, construction on 1,600 square feet of administrative offices is underway on the southwest corner of Southern and 35^th Avenues.

Once the medical facility opens, which could happen as early as September, it will be staffed with two doctors and one pediatrician. People with and without insurance will be eligible for care.

“Our philosophy is we’re not going to turn anyone away because they don’t have insurance,” Gonzales said. “We’ll try to find subsidies to pay for their services, but we’re also going to take a wide range of insurance services.”

Programs are being developed to assist patients in monitoring common health conditions. Also, management programs for diabetes and hypertension will be offered, as will prevention activities and information that addresses nutrition, depression, trauma and cardiovascular health.

Gonzales is currently working with local businesses, including Walmart and Walgreens, to create a partnership for prescription programs.

In addition to the medical center’s South Mountain connection with programs and services, a local company – United Southwest Construction – is the project’s builder.