Phoenix offers a wide range of hospitals to serve a rapidly growing population. The Valley has excellent health care institutions including the world famous Mayo Clinic and Barrow Neurological Institute. New health care institutions, medical offices and complexes and hospitals are under construction across the metro area to keep up with the growing population and growing need.  Gilbert alone has three regional hospitals under construction currently!   The Banner Health System is quite large, and includes the following Valley hospitals: Banner Baywood Heart Hospital and Banner Baywood in Mesa, Mesa and Desert Samaritan Medical Centers in Mesa, Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, and Banner Estrella Medical Center and Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix. Good Samaritan has several specialty services including transplantation, Level 1 trauma care, and cancer care. Banner also offers a free 24 hour hotline and Poison Control Center. www.bannerhealth.com The Abrazo Health Care system includes Arrowhead Hospital in Glendale, Maryvale Hospital Medican Center, Paradise Valley Hospital, Phoenix Baptist Hospital, Phoenix Memorial Hospital and West Valley Hospital Medical Center in Goodyear. www.abrazohealthcare.com Catholic Healthcare West includes Barrow Neurological Institute, one of the largest and most highly regarded full-service neuroscience centers in the nation. The network also includes Chandler Regional Hospital and the new Gilbert Emergency Hospital in the Southeast Valley. www.chwhealth.org The Department of Veterans Affairs offers inpatient and outpatient services at the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Phoenix. www.phoenix.med.va.gov The John C. Lincoln Health Network operates 2 hospitals in the Valley – John C. Lincoln Hospital North Mountain, and John C. Lincoln Hospital Deer Valley. www.jcl.com IASIS Healthcare Corporation offers general and acute care at Mesa General Hospital, St. Luke’s Medical Center in Phoenix and Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, both with a strong emphasis on surgery. www.iasishealthcare.com The Mayo Clinic opened in Scottsdale in 1987 and has evolved into an integrated multi-campus system that include Mayo Clinic Hospital in northeast Phoenix and Mayo Clinic and the Samuel C. Johnson Research Building in Scottsdale. The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is one of only 38 U.S. medical centers named as a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center. www.mayoclinic.org The Maricopa Integrate Health System operates one of the Valley’s largest hospitals, Maricopa Medical Center in central Phoenix.  This institution is the health care safety net for all Maricopa County citizens.  It offers a 24 hour pediatric emergency department, level 1 trauma care and the Arizona Burn Center.  It is the only one of its kind in the state, and the 3rd largest in the nation. www.mihs.org The Arizona Heart Hospital in Phoenix was the first one in Arizona dedicated solely to heart disease.  It also has a 24 hour heart emergency center and conducts ongoing clinical and research studies. www.azhearthospital.com The Phoenix Children’s Hospital handles everything from infants to teenagers and mild to severe cases. Its neonatal unit and pediatric intensive care unit are among the largest in the Southwest, and can handle the most severe cases. www.phoenixchildrens.com Scottsdale Healthcare is a locally-based nonprofit health care system that serves the northeast Valley with Scottsdale Healthcare Shea and Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn. It also includes the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center on the Shea campus that is known for cancer treatment and research through partnerships with the University of Arizona, Translational Genomics Research Institute and the International Genomics Consortium. www.shc.org Sun Health is also a non profit, community based system in the west valley that includes Boswell Memorial Hospital and Del E. Webb Memorial Hospital as well as the Sun Health Research Institute and Sun Health Heart Center. www.sunhealth.org If you are new to the Valley, it is important to recognize your body’s need to adjust to the dry desert climate. Over 300 days of sunshine per year, comfortable outdoor temperatures for at least 8 months of the year and plenty of outdoor activities and attractions make a healthy lifestyle easy in the Phoenix area. But, there are important steps to take to keep your family safe and healthy. Be sure to apply sunscreen even during the coolest months of the year.  The metro Phoenix area has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the U.S., and the sun can and will hurt you even when it is cooler outside. Wear a sunscreen with at least SPF 30 and sun protective clothing such as long sleeves in cooler weather and a hat whenever possible. There are many potent allergens in Arizona including Bermuda grass, southwestern ragweeds and juniper trees. Try to keep your windows shut at night and keep your fan and/or air conditioning running. In addition, change your air filters regularly throughout your home.