EMDR Therapy in Green Valley, AZ

GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. - As temperatures rise in Arizona, more rattlesnakes are out and about. A woman in Green Valley was bitten this week outside her own home, but what happened next was quite unusual.

The Green Valley Fire District says that this is one of the busiest rattlesnake seasons it has ever seen. First responders take around 15 to 20 calls per day to remove and relocate snakes and Gila monsters.

"We’re talking probably a good 2.5-3 foot snake," said L.T. Pratt with Green Valley Fire.

On Wednesday morning, crews were called after learning an elderly woman had been bitten on her right foot by a rattlesnake.

The snake was apparently hiding in a decorative pot just outside of her gate, and that there was no coiling up of this snake, no rattling, but the snake just bit her," Pratt said.

Elderly woman treated for rattlesnake bite at Southern Arizona hospital

With warmer weather, more rattlesnakes are out and about, and a woman in Southern Arizona found that out the hard way. However, the rattlesnake that bit the woman also played a role in the woman's treatment. FOX 10's Stephanie Bennett reports.

Paramedics rushed her to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, but crews also rounded up the snake and brought it to the hospital.

"Of course the crews having that equipment on scene were able to capture that snake, box it up, and then with our communication with the receiving hospital, the physician had asked that we bring the snake in for tests," Pratt said.

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A Scottsdale family was in for quite the surprise, after they called for help to remove what they first thought was one single rattlesnake from their front porch.

Bryan Hughes, owner of Rattlesnake Solutions, has been out tracking snakes south of Phoenix. Their crews are also busy getting about 20 calls a day.

"You can call a professional to come and remove it," Hughes said. "More important than removing that snake is to figure out why that snake is there to begin with so you can prevent the next one."

On Friday, his team found a few rattlesnakes in Scottsdale hiding in the drainpipe of a church.

For this next three weeks, the snakes will be very active, Hughes says, but they'll become more nocturnal as the Valley reaches the triple digits.

"They also have a lot to do right now," Hughes said. As soon as the temperatures really get stable in the triple digits it's going to be too hot, so right now they have to eat, they have to mate, they have to move they got all this stuff, so that makes them cross trails cross backyards, cross roadways and that’s why you will see them."

If you are bitten by a rattlesnake, firefighters say you should call 911. Don't touch or handle the snake, and if you're bitten on the hand or foot, remove shoes and any jewelry because swelling will start almost immediately.

Pastor Craig Larson will be installed at Desert Hills Lutheran Church in Green Valley on Sunday, 12/4/2022 at 3pm. Bishop Hutterer will be preaching. Reception to follow.

Rostered ministers are invited to process, color of the day will be blue.

Rostered ministers who will be taking part in the procession are asked to confirm with Mary McNichols, Director of Congregation Support, at 520 648-1633 or mcnichols@dhlc.org.

A coffee and cookie reception will be held following the ceremony in our Lokken Fellowship Hall at Desert Hills Lutheran Church, 2150 S Camino Del Sol, Green Valley, AZ 85622.

Pastor Craig Larson was born in Minot, North Dakota; graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN; and attended Luther Northwestern Seminary (now Luther Seminary) in St. Paul, MN. He was part of the first ELCA graduating class in 1988. Pastor Craig’s first call was to a two-point parish in North Dakota, St. Olaf of Rural Turtle Lake and Our Saviors of Mercer. He served there for five years. Listening to God’s call, he came to Arizona to serve at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Lake Havasu City for eight years. Pastor Craig was then called to be a Mission Redeveloper of Trinity Lutheran Church in southeast Tucson for five years. His most recent call was at Mount Zion Lutheran Church in west Tucson for the last 15 years.

Pastor Craig and his wife, Suzanne, are looking forward to joining Desert Hills Lutheran Church and getting to know the congregation. They have been married for over 16 wonderful years and have resided in the Tucson area together. They have two daughters who also call Arizona home which allows for a short drive to visit. Their oldest daughter, Andria, and her husband, Thomas, live in Mesa with granddaughters, Paige and Natalie. Pastor Craig always has fun spending time with them, and the little ones keep him on his toes. Pastor Craig and Suzanne enjoy vintage shopping with their youngest daughter, Monica. Monica keeps them busy with home improvement projects at her home in central Phoenix.

In their down time, Pastor Craig and Suzanne enjoy road trips through the Southwest and discovering the best local spots in each town that they visit. His mom and sisters still live in North Dakota along with their families. When he visits home, they enjoy the North Dakota State Fair, and every few years, they travel to Minot for the Scandinavian Festival, Hostfest. Pastor Craig is a lifetime Minnesota Vikings fan. (Some years are easier to be a fan than others.)

Pastor Craig looks “forward to us all continuing our faith journey and looking for the adventures that await us in serving our Lord!”

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Updated at 10:44 a.m.

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management is reporting Wednesday's Cedar Creek Fire is now fully contained after spreading 106 acres.

#CedarCreekFire is 100% contained at 106 acres. Crews continue to strengthen line & mop up any remaining interior hotspots. #AZFire #AZForestry https://t.co/kWEjJCyGD9

— AZ State Forestry (@azstateforestry) June 1, 2023

——

Updated at 9:45 a.m.

The Department of Forestry and Fire Management said someone who lives in the area was welding around 2 in the afternoon and that’s how they fire started. They said the fire burned at least 100 acres but said the fire isn’t spreading.

They said right now it’s at least 80 percent contained and said by tonight they’re expecting it to be fully contained.

As for any houses or buildings, they said those weren’t affected by the fire and said there were no evacuations.

They said crews will be working to put out hot spots tonight and tomorrow too.

__ __ __

Updated at 7:20 p.m.

Crews continue to work on controlling the fire and will remain doing so through the night and into tomorrow.

———Updated at 3:30 p.m.

The Cedar Creek Fire is moving north due to the wind covering about 30 to 40 acres.

———The Green Valley Fire Department is responding to a brush fire on West Hardscrabble Road and South Cedar Creek Road, south of Green Valley.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department advised through its Twitter feed that residents should be alert and prepared for an evacuation.

"Please take all necessary precautions and remember, if evacuation is implemented, DO NOT forget critical items such as medications, proper clothing, phone charging equipment, etc," PCSD said.

Stay with KGUN 9 for further updates.

——-Bivian Contreras is a real-time editor for KGUN 9. Bivian graduated from the University of Arizona School of Journalism with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Broadcast and is currently pursuing a degree in Broadcast Operational Meteorology. Share your story ideas and important issues with Bivian by emailing bivian.contreras@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Northmarq Phoenix’s Investment Sales team of Trevor Koskovich, Jesse Hudson, Ryan Boyle and Logan Baca brokered the $8.8 million ($169,231/unit) sale of Sahuarita Mission, a 52-unit, apartment community located at 1091 W. Beta Street in Green Valley, Arizona. Northmarq’s Investment Sales team brokered the transaction for the Phoenix-based seller, Sahuarita Mission Owner, LLC (FSO Capital Partners.)

Northmarq’s Debt and Equity team of Bryan Mummaw, Bryan Liu, Brandon Harrington, Christopher Gitibin, Brad Burns and Tyler Woodard provided financing for the buyer, WNC Apartment Ventures, LLC from Cypress, California, through its relationship with Freddie Mac securing a $5.93 million loan.

READ MORE: 50 commercial real estate companies to watch in 2023

“The buyer saw the opportunity for future revenue growth with 90 percent of the units now able to be rented at market rate as the property recently completed it’s 3-year deregulation period,” said Hudson. Built as an affordable community in 2000, 47 of the units are now able to be leased at market rate rents, with five units reserved for state HOME units with 50 and 60 percent AMI restrictions through July 2030. “Given our strong relationship with Freddie Mac and more specifically, the Targeted Affordable Housing programs, we were able to deliver very competitive terms to the borrower and push leverage in a choppy lending environment,” said Mummaw.

Sahuarita Mission was built in 2000 as an affordable community with four buildings, two- and three-story, on 2.88-acres. The previous owners recently invested over $350,000 in capital expenditures for improvements to roofs, HVACs, and both interior and exterior improvements to the community. The fully leased property includes two- and three-bedroom units that range in size from 822 sq. ft. to 1,013 sq. ft. The property includes a community clubhouse, children’s playground, picnic area with grill, laundry facilities and on-site leasing office. The units feature walk-in closets, balcony or patio, plush carpet and automatic dishwashers.

“There is additional opportunity for the buyers to increase revenue by implementing an interior renovation program to the units as well as adding income producing features like in-unit washers and dryers,” explained Hudson.

Sahuarita Mission is located in Green Valley, Arizona, located in Pima County and approximately 25 miles south of Tucson. The overall vacancy rate in the Tucson multifamily market was 7.4 percent at yearend 2022. Click here to read the full fourth quarter 2022 Tucson Multifamily Market Insights report.

The Santa Cruz Regional Valley Hospital closed down last week, after years of financial struggles. Located 30 miles south of Tucson, it was Green Valley’s only hospital.

The closure occurred after TMC HealthCare, a large healthcare provider in southern Arizona, backed out of acquiring the hospital last month.

TMC Health worked with the hospital on the acquisition for seven months before it decided to back out of the deal.

“After careful due diligence, the decision was made to not proceed with the acquisition of the hospital," said TMC Health in a statement. "We are working closely with management at Santa Cruz to identify appropriate placements for as many employees as possible. We continue to explore opportunities to provide needed medical services to the Green Valley community.”

According to the Santa Cruz Valley Regional Hospital's website, the 7-year-old hospital ceased all services at 12 p.m. Thursday. The 49-bed facility served Green Valley, Sahuarita, Nogales, Rio Rico, Tubac, Amado, Patagonia and Sonoita.

On June 20, a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice was issued stating that 315 employees would be affected by the closure.

WARN requires “employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs,” according to the state’s Department of Economic Security website.

Closure was caused by a 'perfect storm' of events

Pima County District 4 Supervisor Steve Christy said there was a “perfect storm” of factors that contributed to the closing of the hospital from debt to lack of patients.

Christy said many residents chose to go to Tucson with its state-of-the-art medical facilities, and Sahuarita, which neighbors Green Valley and has an 18-bed medical center that opened in 2020.

Even residents in communities as far south as the border town of Nogales often preferred to travel to Tucson, said Olivia Ainza-Kramer, president of the Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce.

“For Nogales and Rio Rico, our hospital is Holy Cross hospital, the services ... are very good and very good staff except that it's a small hospital. Whenever they (people) needed to be treated for something else that they couldn't treat here, they would be transferred to Tucson,” she said.

Representatives from the Carondelet Network, which runs Holy Cross did not respond to requests for comment.

The Arizona Daily Star reported on July 2, the hospital’s former CEO Stephen Harris said only about 15% of the people living in Green Valley used the hospital.

Another issue facing the Santa Cruz Valley Regional Hospital was mounting debt. The Daily Star’s article reported the hospital fell behind on repaying Medicare payments advanced to keep the hospital open during the pandemic.

Christy noted that with the recent downturn of the economy, the frequent change in leadership of the hospital, and the medical complex's complicated ownership structure, the decision of TMC Health to back out of the deal was no surprise.

According to Pima County GIS maps, multiple entities own different buildings and the land the hospital sits on.

Christy said the plan for TMC Health to take over the hospital was one last effort at saving the institution after years of financial issues and ownership changes. He called the closure “gut-wrenching” after the deal fell through.

Hospital has a turbulent past

The Arizona Republic reported in May 2020, that in 2018 Lateral Investment Management took over ownership and gave the hospital its current name after it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of Arizona gave Santa Cruz Valley Regional Hospital one-time funding of $3.6 million from the COVID-19 Crisis Contingency and Safety Net Fund in May 2020 after hospital leaders said they were on the brink of closure due to a drop in revenue during the first months of the pandemic.

Hospital leaders told The Daily Star the hospital, which leaders estimated cost $79 million to build, had experienced “turmoil and financial mismanagement” in its early days.

Before the facility was built the area did not have a hospital or emergency room, and residents had to travel about 30 minutes by car to get to an ER.

“It’s very sad because in 2015 it opened with such high hopes and great expectations,” Christy said. “It’s a beautiful facility. I think it's indicative of what many rural hospitals are experiencing right now.”

Christy said there has been no talk about what will become of the complex that housed the hospital.

Hospital administrators could not be reached for comment.

Coverage of southern Arizona on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is funded by the nonprofit Report for America in association with The Republic.