The Fountain Hills Medical Center is near ready to take the next step toward the ultimate development of a fully certified hospital in the community, according to Dr. Scott Schleifer, Emergency Medicine Medical Director for the center.

Schleifer said an architect for the facility is in the final stages of preparing the proposal and documents that will be submitted to the Town of Fountain Hills for construction permitting.

The plan is for a 30,000 square-foot facility that will be occupied in two phases, according to Schleifer. He said they anticipate construction can begin early next year and be ready to open the second phase by late 2022. The plan for that next step is for 15 inpatient beds and a cardiac cath suite.

At the point of opening that next section, the medical center will apply to the state for its hospital certification. Also, at that time it will submit for a certificate to begin receiving emergency ambulance traffic.

“We want to get up and running with the services most helpful to the town,” Schleifer said.

He also added that the development is proceeding as originally planned by the medical center management.

Phase III, to be added later, would include surgical suites as well as professional medical offices. There currently is no timetable set for that stage.

Services available now at Fountain Hills Medical Center include a walk-in and primary care clinic as well as a certified free-standing emergency room.

Schleifer said that the medical center has had no delays or failure on any of the certification inspections it has received from the state.

The Fountain Hills Medical Center opened its doors in April this year and since that time more than 3,000 people have been through the doors for medical help.

It has been a local site where residents can go for emergencies and walk-in urgent care and primary doctor visits. It has also been available to the community for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. They also now have available the Regen-Cov monoclonal antibodies for COVID patients, according to Schleifer. This is the drug that then President Donald Trump received when he was diagnosed with COVID in 2020.