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Northern Arizona Healthcare's (NAH) plans for the future of services in Flagstaff have been evolving in recent months since the failure of the referendum on the hospital relocation plans in November.

Dave Cheney, the health system’s CEO, said NAH has plans to remodel the Summit Center into a hub for ambulatory services, and that its plans to move Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC) to a new campus no longer include a larger health village.

NAH had been developing plans for a new FMC campus at Fort Tuthill. Those plans, formulated in 2021, included a new hospital, ambulatory care center (ACC), and surrounding health and wellness village concept. After the project’s first phase of zoning received city approval in June 2023, Flagstaff Community First organized a petition to put a referendum on the rezoning on the ballot in November. The group's effort was successful, and in November over 70% of Flagstaff voters voted against the measure (called Proposition 480).

The shooting down of the measure meant the FMC campus plans no longer had the approval needed to move forward, and NAH leaders said they would begin the process of finding another site for the hospital move. Cheney said NAH is now trying to find ways to increase efficiencies at the current hospital campus while it searches for a different location on which to build a new FMC.

Cheney, in his ninth month as NAH’s CEO, said the changes to the healthcare system’s plans for the Summit Center and FMC’s new campus are part of an increased focus on responding to the community in the wake of the election results.

Summit Center changes

NAH is planning a “complete gut and remodel� of the Summit Center over the next two years, and it includes a 6,000-square-foot addition.

The plans for Summit Center are similar to the services that would have been offered in the ambulatory care center included in the first phase of plans for the Fort Tuthill campus, Cheney said, adding that “we would not probably duplicate those services in an acute care hospital setting,� when asked if the new campus plans for FMC would then still include an ACC.

When complete, the project will include an ambulatory surgery center, wound and hyperbaric clinic, ortho and neuro surgery clinic, and 5,200 square feet for an EntireCare physical therapy program, he said.

The ambulatory surgery center will span about 27,600 square feet, with six operating rooms, two pain procedure rooms, and 32 pre-operative and PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) bays. The 4,700-square-foot wound and hyperbarics clinic will include two hyperbaric chambers (with room to add another) and six exam rooms, while the ortho and neurosurgery clinic will be 14,800 square feet, with two X-rays and a three-bay casting area in addition to 27 exam rooms and two procedure rooms.

“What we heard from the community is they wanted to keep a lot of the services in central Flagstaff,� Cheney said. � ... These [services] are access points for the community that I think are much-needed and it keeps services in central Flagstaff -- which is what we heard loud and clear from the community.�

The Summit Center is by the current FMC, on the corner of Turquoise Drive and Forest Avenue.

NAH is currently planning to have the design and permits ready by October, with construction complete in January of 2026. The first patient will then be expectantly seen in July 2026.

Flagstaff Medical Center campus

NAH is still searching for a location to build a new campus for FMC, Cheney said, and it has not yet selected a site.

One detail he did provide about the new campus is it will not include plans for a health and wellness village, and NAH will seek input from Flagstaff residents before finalizing a new location.

“What we learned is there were many people that got confused by the health and wellness village concept, so we made the decision to abandon the commercial and retail portion of that plan,� he said.

He said NAH is still considering ways to build housing on the new campus to increase the amount of affordable housing available to both hospital staff and Flagstaff residents more generally.

The problems with the current campus outlined during the election are still present, he said, and prevent NAH from using its current location for a new FMC. It is working to improve efficiency in the meantime, he added.

“We’ve committed to the community that the community needs a modern hospital in northern Arizona, and we have not backed down on that at all,� Cheney said. “The same issues that were there nine months ago are still there today; we simply have outgrown the existing campus and we can’t afford to shut down services to the communities that we serve while we renovate.�

He added: “We’re always looking at throughput, how we can move patients through the hospital more efficiently. But ... the backup in ED, the lack of beds, that’s still an issue and that’s not going to go away anytime soon. So that’s still playing into wherever the new hospital is going to be. Those issues are still there, but we’re not just sitting back, we’re actually trying to figure out how we can take what we currently have and become more efficient while we wait for the new campus to be constructed.�

Cheney said the search for a new location for FMC included sites in Flagstaff and “immediately outside the city.�

“It was never in my mind that we would specifically focus on moving outside the City of Flagstaff,� he said. � ... Everything is on the table, but clearly we don’t want to get too far away from where the core of the population is -- which is Flagstaff.�

Similarly, he said of the 172 acres of land NAH still owns next to Fort Tuthill County Park, “We’re looking at all options and, until we get much farther along in the evaluation process, we don’t have an outcome for that property at this point.�

He said communication with the community was also a priority in the site selection process and that NAH would seek input before finalizing a new location.

“I think before we would ever move forward with purchasing a piece, we would move forward with town halls, a lot of community meetings to understand what the issues are, both pro and negative, to a certain location," he said.

NAH does not yet have a timeline for making a decision on a specific site, he said, as “this isn’t something I want to hurry through.�

“I want to make sure it's really well thought out and that we really do get the community involvement,� he said.

Healthcare priorities in Flagstaff

Cheney is midway through his first year as NAH’s CEO, after starting on June 12. He said his time as CEO so far has primarily involved “listening to the community,� and in the long term he is prioritizing access to care in Flagstaff.

“We were talking about how important access is and we’re having to turn patients away because our ICUs and med surg tele beds are full,� he said. “Even if one patient can’t get access in their community, I consider that an urgent matter. So to me, it's urgent that we go through this. It’s also equally as urgent that we’re thoughtful in how we do it."

He said he saw access to care as Flagstaff’s primary healthcare need, and included all specialties and levels in that need, from primary care providers to services specific to FMC's level one trauma center status.

“Continuing our journey of improving quality and safety is really critical,� he said. “While our numbers look good, we’re not sitting on our laurels. There’s always room for improvement, so that will always be a priority for NAH, and I can’t say it enough: access, access, access.�

NAH has “made a lot of progress� in staffing shortages recently, he said, hiring an executive recruiter for physicians who works in both Flagstaff and the Verde Valley. Currently, NAH has about 7% travel nurses across the entire system, a total Cheney expected would decrease with lower volumes in the summer.

Similarly, he said NAH was already partnering with Northern Arizona University and Coconino Community College to expand medical training in northern Arizona, and, while it's still “very early,� expected that partnership would expand as the university continues developing NAU Health. 

“One of our key focuses is working on rebuilding our relationship with the community by having honest and frequent communications with the residents. ... We have a lot of work to do, but I’m really confident we’re going to be able to deliver on our promise of delivering exceptional care to the community that we serve,� he said, citing the donation of Stop the Bleed kits to FUSD and Kate Wyatt’s recent recognition at the Athena Awards. 

"I’m very excited about the future of NAH,� Cheney added.

NAH is directing community members with questions or wanting to give input to [email protected]. More about the healthcare organization can be found at .