A growing Phoenix healthcare service that saw the construction last year of a new 10-story, 673,00-square-foot hospital is hoping Maricopa County voters will support a proposition in November, allowing it to build yet more facilities.
Proposition 409 would allow the Maricopa County Special Health Care District to raise around $900 million in funding through general obligation bonds to be used for future construction purposes.
If approved, the Valleywise Health system would begin planning for the building of a new 200-bed behavioral health hospital, while also expanding primary care and pediatric space.
The behavioral health hospital would replace an existing facility that was built in 1978. It is thought that a modern new facility would cost upwards of $220 million to complete.
Supporters of the proposition note that mental health cases processed through the local courts have increased by 169% in the last decade, greatly exceeding projected patient volumes.
The proposition has won the backing of the Arizona Public Health Association, asserting that the facilities to be funded through the bond are not “optional or extravagant projects. They are essential.”
October 14, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
