There are so many reasons other than the great weather as to why Tucson homes are so highly sought after and the excellent healthcare system is one of them. If you are looking at Tucson real estate, you will be interested to learn more about the area’s healthcare options.

The city of Tucson offers some of the finest health care in the state of Arizona, from private doctors to highly skilled specialists to large-scale hospitals. In fact, one of the most well-known hospitals in the Tucson metropolitan area is the University Medical Center (UMC), part of the University of Arizona. This private, nonprofit teaching hospital was established in 1971 and is the only academic medical center in Arizona. Thanks to extraordinary physicians, a professional staff and a nurse-to-patient ratio of just 1:4, UMC is able to provide an extremely high level of care.  

Another well-regarded hospital in the area is Tucson Medical Center (TMC) where over one thousand physicians participate in sixty different specialties. Those specialties include cardiac care, orthopedics, hospice care, neuroscience, maternal and child health, diagnostic services, behavioral health and senior services. Additionally, the only specifically child-oriented emergency department in the region can be found at Tucson Medical Center.  

A Catholic medical group, the Carondelet Medical Group, has locations all across southern Arizona that provides care for a variety of illnesses. Considered by many to offer top-notch care, the Carondelet Medical Group boasts three specialty group offices, eighteen primary care offices and four hospitals, one of which is dedicated entirely to cardiac and vascular care. Highlights include the Carondelet Neurological Institute, which is located at St. Joseph’s Hospital and is the largest facility in southern Arizona that deals exclusively with neurological injuries, diseases and disorders.   

For urgent care, the city is host to Urgent Care Associates of Tucson. Urgent Care Associates
has two offices, one near central Tucson and one in southeast Tucson. According to Urgent Care Associates’ website, they accept all insurance and health care plans and there is no need to call in advance for an appointment. They accept walk-ins and treat unscheduled medical needs every day, with the exception of holidays. rl0z1

Sharing its name with the Spanish term for ‘gold,’ the Tucson, Arizona suburb of Oro Valley certainly lives up to the images associated with its namesake. Named the Number 1 ‘best affordable place to retire’ in the country by Business Week in September 2009, Oro Valley presents an invaluable opportunity for those who are looking for a wonderful place to live in an environment surrounded by the grandeur of Mother Nature. Indeed, with the beautiful Santa Catalina Mountains towering in the background, Oro Valley offers a tantalizing blend of upscale living, majestic views and luxurious Tucson homes for sale, and it’s an especially enticing venue for golf aficionados.  

To wit: Oro Valley is the home of five championship golf courses – El Conquistador Country Club, Golf Club at Vistoso, Oro Valley Country Club, Stone Canyon Club and Sun City Vistoso Golf Club. Each presents its own challenges and thrills, offering hardcore golf enthusiasts several options, while also allowing more easy-going players to find the course that best suits their skill-set. Oro Valley has garnered national attention for these courses; in fact, Golf Club at Vistoso has been rated as the best public course in southern Arizona, while the Stone Canyon Club boasts rankings such as No. 21 of the “Top 100 Residential Courses” by Golfweek, No. 68 on Golf Digest’s “Greatest 100 Golf Courses in the USA,” and No. 2 in the state of Arizona by Golf Digest.  

The town of Oro Valley is served by the Amphitheater School District, which is the home of many highly rated educational opportunities. In addition, the nearby Tucson area enjoys a number of private and charter schools if that better suits the needs of your family.   If you’re looking to take in a movie, eat out, or just do some shopping, be sure to check out the Oro Valley Marketplace, which is located in the northern part of Oro Valley. Home to three large shopping plazas in the span of just a few city blocks, the Marketplace is the area to find pretty much anything and everything for everyday living. If you want a more high-end shopping experience, don’t pass up a visit to La Encantada or the Casas Adobes Plaza.  

Along with playing host to a variety of nationally recognized events including televised golf tournaments, Oro Valley is also the annual home of the Oro Valley Festival of the Arts, the El Tour de Tucson bicycle race and the Cactus Speed Classic for inline skating. These events help ensure that there will always be something going on in or near Tucson, Arizona to capture the interest of anyone who’s looking for something fun and entertaining to do in the great outdoors.  rl0z1

Who knew?

According to the Tucson Convention and Visitor’s Bureau website, Tucson’s plethora of classic Sonoran desert vegetation, rolling grasslands, high mountains and warm winters all combine to make southeastern Arizona a bird-watchers’ paradise. In fact, more than 500 species of birds call the area home, hummingbirds can
be seen year-round and specialty birds like the the Red-Faced Warbler, the Grey Hawk and Vermilion Flycatchers can be found within a short drive of metropolitan Tucson.  

Get this — during the fall and spring migration it is possible to see 150 or more species in a single day…that’s amazing! Summer brings spectacular rarities including hummingbird species found nowhere else in the United States, while wintertime brings more than 20,000 Sandhill Cranes, myriad species of waterfowl, sparrows and raptors…all of whom are seeking the warm temperatures and sunny skies of the scenic Tucson real estate.  

Several local communities host birding festivals throughout the year in celebration of the outstanding bird life found in this ultra-scenic area, and you can view a complete list of Tucson-area birding sites on the Tucson Audubon Society website, www.tucsonaudubon.org.  

Additional resources for bird-ophiles include:  

• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
• Madera Canyon 
• Sweetwater Wetland
• Agua Caliente Park
• Catalina State Park
• Saguaro National Park West
• Sierra Vista Birders Guide
• Las Cienegas NCA – Watchable Wildlife
• Southern Arizona Bird Observatory
• Nature Conservancy’s Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve
• Tubac Birding
• Birding the Anza Trail at Tubac
• Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
• Tucson Audubon Society’s Rare Bird Alert
• Tucson Audubon Society
• The Nature Conservancy Arizona
• Southern Arizona Bird Observatory    

*Source: www.VisitTucson.org; information used with permission. rl0z1