Crews work to demolish former county hospital building in central Phoenix

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Demolition of an old county hospital is underway in central Phoenix and will continue for months.

On Wednesday morning, crews used heavy equipment to tear down the northern walls of the Valleywise Health Medical Center building, formerly known as Maricopa Medical Center, at the current medical campus near 24th Street and Roosevelt .

The building, which first opened its doors in 1971, at one point housed the state’s only public teaching hospital and a Level I Trauma Center.

Maricopa Medical Center saw generations of caregivers serve the community, providing critical care to underserved populations and training thousands of physicians and nurses, according to Plaza Companies, the construction manager on the demolition project.

The demolition is a “major step forwa