Banner-University Medical Center (Phoenix). Banner-University Medical Center, formerly Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, is a nationally renowned academic medical center. The hospital was founded by Lulu Clifton in 1911. Ms. Clifton, a Methodist Deaconess, traveled to Phoenix to recover from tuberculosis. With only $12 on hand, she set out to create Arizona Deaconess Hospital, which was located in an apartment building. Over the years, the hospital continued to grow. In late February of this year, Banner Health — the medical center's operator — and University of Arizona Health Network completed a merger, resulting in the medical center's name change and increased collaboration with the university's research activities and medical training programs.
In its 2014-15 rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked 653-bed Banner-University Medical Center as the No. 2 hospital in Arizona and in Phoenix, and in the top 50 hospitals in the nation for geriatrics. The Magnet-accredited hospital has many additional recognitions, including accreditation by The Joint Commission for hospital and transplant services, designation as a Level I trauma center by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma and designation as a Level III comprehensive epilepsy center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers, among others.
The hospital offers specialty services in advanced heart care, advanced lung diseases, organ transplantations, orthopedics, rehabilitation and concussion care. Additionally, the hospital houses some of the nation's leading expertise in high-risk obstetrics care, including multiple births.