More than 64 percent of voters in Maricopa County approved Proposition 449 to renew the annual property owner tax assessment that supplements the operational budget at Valleywise Health, the county’s teaching, public health system that serves a large percentage of financially vulnerable, safety net patients. Administered through the Maricopa County Special Health Care District’s five-member elected Board of Directors, the annual assessment will be provided over a 20-year period. The annual assessment levy equals about 12% of District revenues and ensures the continued operation of the District and its many health care facilities.
“On behalf of Valleywise Health’s 4,000-plus employees, our District Medical Group partners, and the nearly half-million patients we serve every year, I want to express our deep gratitude to the voters for their confidence in our organization to provide the highest level of care to all, and especially those who are vulnerable and without resources,” said Steve Purves, Valleywise Health’s President and CEO.
“Additionally, I want to give a huge thanks the Proposition 449 campaign committee that made this victory possible,” Purves said. “Karie Dozier’s leadership of this committee was outstanding, and she had a first-rate leadership team of co-chairs supporting her – Betsey Bayless, Fred DuVal and John Hoopes. Clearly, I’d be remiss not say a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has donated, endorsed, knocked on doors and supported Proposition 449,” Purves added. “
Purves credited the campaign committee’s effectiveness in building a broad coalition of nurses, doctors, public safety personnel, business leaders, elected officials, organizations and others who supported the campaign. “Clearly, they made the case to voters that Valleywise Health is an indispensable component of a quality health care infrastructure, and is complementary to the excellent private hospitals and health systems in Maricopa County.”
About Valleywise Health
Located in Phoenix, Arizona and named one of the 100 Top Hospitals in the nation by IBM Watson Health in 2020, Valleywise Health (formerly Maricopa Integrated Health System) has a proud tradition of being the public safety net health care system with a mission and commitment to serving the underserved. Valleywise Health consists of Valleywise Health Medical Center, Arizona’s only public teaching hospital, the only trauma center in Maricopa County verified by the American College of Surgeons to treat both adults and children, and Arizona’s only nationally verified Burn Center serving the entire Southwestern United States. Other services include the McDowell Healthcare Center, the largest provider of HIV primary care in Arizona, the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic, three behavioral health centers, and a network of 12 community health centers located throughout Maricopa County.