By Lorenzo Gomez | Cronkite News<\/p>\n
PHOENIX \u2014 A bond initiative on the November ballot would expand emergency and behavioral health care for Maricopa County\u2019s only public teaching hospital and safety net health care system.<\/p>\n
Proposition 409<\/a>\u00a0would authorize an $898 million bond for\u00a0Valleywise Health<\/a>, the county-run medical center providing comprehensive care to people around the Valley. The public health care system is looking to renovate and modernize existing centers to accommodate the county\u2019s\u00a0growing population<\/a>\u00a0of 4.6 million \u2014 the\u00a0fourth largest<\/a> county in the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cWe serve millions of visits per year,\u201d said Dr. Michael White, Valleywise\u2019s chief clinical officer. \u201cWe do not turn anyone away. Anyone who needs care will get care within our organization.\u201d<\/p>\n If approved by Maricopa County voters,\u00a0the proposition<\/a> would increase property taxes by 11 cents per $100 of net assessed limited property value. That would translate to an extra $220 annually on a home assessed at $200,000.<\/p>\n White said some money would go toward constructing a new behavioral health hospital to replace the original 1978 facility, doubling the number of available beds for behavioral health patients. Additional money would go toward expanding emergency services, building a new outpatient specialty center, updating Chandler<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0South Central<\/a>\u00a0health centers and improving training for medical students.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing this bonding vehicle through the property tax makes sure that we are being fair and equitable to serve all the citizens across the county,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n Valleywise is Arizona\u2019s largest public teaching hospital,\u00a0training more than 3,000<\/a>\u00a0residents in psychiatry, pediatrics, internal medicine and more. In addition to modernizing facilities, the bond initiative would expand medical education, which White called essential to strengthening the county\u2019s new generation of health care workers.<\/p>\n For Earl Wilcox, former Arizona legislator and Valleywise Health board member, the need for improvements runs deep. Now spending much of his days running his restaurant El Portal<\/a>, just outside of downtown Phoenix, and spending time with the community, Wilcox sees an opportunity for Proposition 409 to benefit the people he\u2019s seen struggling.<\/p>\n Wilcox recalled when an uninsured local resident who was suffering from a urinary issue and unsure where to go. He was admitted to Valleywise and immediately seen by a urologist, and by the end of the day, had been fixed up and sent on his way.<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe try not to be bureaucratic. They come in with a fever, with a broken arm, they\u2019re going to have a baby \u2014 we take care of them,\u201d Wilcox said. \u201cWe don\u2019t ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n Born and raised in South Phoenix, he has seen many young people fall victim to a variety of mental health issues. He and his wife help maintain Grant Park. In turn, they have met young people from all walks of life dealing with issues of identity and addiction.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had instances where some of our kids have committed suicide as a result of not having some of our systems reach out to them adequately,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In 2024, Mental Health America\u00a0ranked Arizona 48th<\/a>\u00a0in access to mental health care. Arizona Department of Health Services\u2019\u00a0\u201c2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey\u201d<\/a>\u00a0showed that 25% of teens in the state had thought about taking their own lives in the previous year. In Maricopa County, the\u00a0suicide rate in 2023<\/a>\u00a0was about 17.5 per 100,000 people compared to the national average of 14.9.<\/p>\n Alongside concerns of mental health are those of substance abuse. As of Sept. 4, Maricopa County\u00a0recorded the state\u2019s highest<\/a> nonfatal opioid overdose rate \u2014 roughly 51 for every 100,000 people.<\/p>\n Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, said these rates are exactly why his organization is backing Proposition 409. One of his main concerns is the capacity for court-ordered treatment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like a sinus infection, where you take the antibiotics and it clears up. Some of these psych meds take a long time to start working, and so we need a lot more capacity for court-ordered treatment,\u201d Humble said.<\/p>\n Like Wilcox, he noted Valleywise\u2019s importance to the county\u2019s underserved and underinsured populations.<\/p>\n