13 minute read
Reimagining Health Care with Wellness Hub Assessing Broadband Needs
Northern Arizona Healthcare’s Josh Tinkle, Flo Spyrow and Steve Eiss are among the healthcare architects of the future, designing a holistic and high-tech wellness village to be among the most innovative healing centers in the country. Photo by Bonnie Stevens
Plans Underway for Destination Health Village
NAH reimagines health care with state-of-the-art hospital, ambulatory center and wellness hub in the pines
By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN
Northern Arizona Healthcare has a $750 million vision for how health care can best be delivered in a unique healing environment, anchored by a state-of-the-art hospital and ambulatory center amidst the ponderosa pines. The proposed Health and Wellness Village is to include businesses and services and is situated on 190 acres of NAH property on the west side of Interstate 17, north of Fort Tuthill County Park, near the Flagstaff Airport.
“We’re embarking on an ambitious program to enhance the quality of care we provide,” said NAH President and CEO Flo Spyrow. “This will not only be the biggest project in Northern Arizona, but likely the biggest project for years to come in all of Arizona, bringing jobs and economic viability as well as amazing health care to citizens of Northern Arizona,” she said in a news conference delivered through Zoom.
Chief Administrative Officer Josh Tinkle called it “a momentous occasion” as NAH began the process of making the vision a reality by submitting its application for zoning modifications to the City of Flagstaff in late April.
“You can work in health care your entire career and never have the opportunity to reimagine what health care should be delivered,” said Tinkle. “What we envision is not only an acute hospital with an ambulatory campus, but really a wellness village that’s a destination for all of Northern Arizona. Some of the new features that we expect to see on the platform itself, being the hospital and ambulatory clinic, will be more open spaces, more natural light, more modern infrastructure and technology to take care of all the patients, [with] more respite spaces for families. And then on the broader campus, we expect to see more wellness offerings such as yoga, healthy food options, eventually some residential development over our commercial spaces, etc.”
NAH Vice President of Construction and Real Estate Steve Eiss says the project, expected to be approved by the end of the year, will be a “huge economic development engine” for Flagstaff, starting with the development process.
“We are anticipating at peak, 750 to 800 construction workers on site at any given time,” he said. “That is not inclusive of engineering and architecture staff that we feel will be in the 50 to 60 jobs range. So, we’re talking about four to five solid years of construction creating not only jobs in that industry, but also dollars to be spent in the Flagstaff community by these workers.”
“That doesn’t include the other 120 acres that will be developed into the future and the construction and businesses that will locate there and begin to contribute to the economic viability and thriving, quite frankly, of Flagstaff,” added Spyrow.
Officials say a Health and Wellness Village is a relatively new concept in health care, bringing onto one site clinical and hospital-based health care, outpatient services, rehabilitation, sports medicine, and residential and patient or provider housing. Amenities such as spas, gyms, health food stores and restaurants also could be in the mix as all of the experiences are designed to have a central location for services, and to focus on keeping populations well.
“We are developing a healthy lifestyle destination in Flagstaff that will take care of Northern Arizona residents with an emphasis on wellness, innovation, virtual and worldclass care,” said Tinkle. “We will create a gathering place for the community. This will be a sanctuary highly integrated with its natural environment that helps community members relieve stress and engage in healthy lifestyle choices.”
NAH officials say the concept for the health village is being influenced by the impact of COVID-19. “Through the pandemic, we went through some really tough times with our staff and all the patients that we take care of. The
Survey to Evaluate Broadband Capabilities for Rural Populations
By Ray Newton, QCBN
Adirect consequence of the shutdowns and isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has been “front and center awareness of the criticality of broadband and its significance in issues such as emergency management, education, health care and work access – and many others,” according to Teri Drew, regional director for the Northern Arizona Council of Governments (NACOG) in Prescott.
“The intensity for creating broadband awareness has prompted us with NACOG to sponsor a major survey throughout Yavapai, Coconino, Apache and Navajo Counties. That survey will help us develop a strategic blueprint for improving connectivity and digital equity among our citizens,” she explained.
Drew defined broadband infrastructure as the cabling and electrical systems that wire homes and businesses into local and regional telecommunication and cable companies. “Communications networks and the internet are linked together, making it possible to interconnect local users with internet, telephone, television and other similar services.”
Bandwidth describes how much information can be transmitted in a network. “The more bandwidth, the fewer bottlenecks to slow the flow of information,” she said.
Drew and her NACOG colleagues with the Economic and Workforce Development program have partnered with Magellan Advisors, an industry-leading broadband company, to assess broadband availability in the four counties that comprise NACOG.
“Our primary goal is to gather information from residents and organizations within our various communities – large and small – so we can better understand their unique needs. To do that, we’re asking residents and businesses in all the communities to participate by taking what we have called the ‘NACOG Broadband Survey,’” she said. “It takes about 10 to 15 minutes. It should be completed by the person in your residence or organization who chooses or uses and pays for services in that location.”
Julia Sawyer, Drew’s executive assistant, emphasized that data collected during surveys will not be used for any purpose other than developing the strategic plan. “If a person feels uncomfortable with a question, that question can be skipped. All we want is to gather demographic and statistical data so that we can compare information with census data and interpret the statistical relevance of responses. Privacy is absolutely assured.”
Participating in the survey will continue until probably the end of June, Sawyer said. The survey is totally online, so only those with access to the internet can participate.
Once survey data has been compiled, NACOG hopes to apply for state and federal grants, examine current and future infrastructure needs in the region, identify unserved and underserved areas, conduct a needs assessment, look for public-private partnership opportunities and design conceptional networks.
PART OF A BIGGER SCHEME
What is happening in NACOG and the other regions in Arizona is part of a national effort. A recent announcement from the Federal Communications Commission indicates the FCC plans to provide low-income households across the nation with assistance to help them cover internet costs.
A $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) is available to households that participate in existing low income and pandemic relief programs offered by high-speed internet providers. The same is true of subscribers to the FCC Lifeline Program. That includes those who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, Medicaid and support from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
A Pew Research Center study found that 53% of Americans believe the internet has been an essential tool during the pandemic. However, as many as 42 million citizens may not have access to high-speed internet.
NACOG is one of several organizations trying to help people by getting them connected, especially in rural areas. But the NACOG territory is diverse – from the northeastern borders of the state to Central Arizona. Officials say with nearly 48,000 square miles and 561,000 people, the use of broadband has become critically important.
“We are committed to the economic recovery and resilience of Northern Arizona. Please help us, through this survey, continue to be a vital resource to community resources, elder care, childcare, mobility and transportation planning and, certainly, economic and workforce development,” said Drew.
Teri Drew, regional director at NACOG, headquartered in Prescott, is spearheading a major survey to collect data to be used to develop a broadband strategic plan for the
region. Photo by Ray Newton
QCBN
For more information, call 928-778-1422 or visit nacog.org.
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