Valleywise Health has been awarded a $3 million grant from The Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority (MCIDA) to assist in developing a comprehensive medical simulation training program.
With this grant, Valleywise Health will provide expanded hands-on learning experiences to hundreds of medical residents and students with the most up to date technology.
“This will allow Valleywise Health to train health professionals with state-of-the art equipment, improving patient care and reducing medical errors by honing the skills of Arizona’s future clinicians,” said Dr. Michael White, Chief Medical Officer.
The three-year grant will provide partial funding for state-of-the-art simulation, staffing, and hospital equipment for a training center with realistic intensive care units, labor and delivery suites, operating rooms, trauma bays, primary care clinics and behavioral health units.
“The grant to Valleywise Health will allow for further enhancement of our important healthcare industry in Maricopa County. This is an area of economic importance that has been highlighted by COVID-19 most recently but has always had economic development potential well beyond the current base,” stated Jim Rounds, MCIDA Board Member.
Valleywise Health Foundation joined Valleywise Health in making the grant request.
“I would like to thank the MCIDA Board for recognizing the value of Valleywise Health’s historic role in training the next generation of Arizona’s physicians,” said Nita Francis, co-chair of the foundation’s campaign cabinet. “This investment will have a significant impact on the quality of medical care in our community by helping Valleywise Health to add highly trained physicians to the local economy.”
Valleywise Health began Arizona’s first medical residency program in 1952 and today is one of the state’s largest physician training program. Valleywise and its physician partner, District Medical Group, spearheaded formation of the Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance, in partnership with Creighton University and Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. The primary pipeline for physician training has greatly increased because of the Alliance, in which Valleywise Health plays a critical role in closing the physician shortage gap.
Of the 322 medical residents and fellows in the Alliance, two-thirds are employed by Valleywise Health, however, nearly all of the Alliance residents conduct some portion of their training at Valleywise. Training programs range from emergency medicine, family medicine, and surgery to adult and adolescent psychiatry.
In addition, Valleywise Health is the clinical training partner for 35 other area educational institutions. Annually, nearly 1,200 students pursuing their degrees in nursing, medicine, pharmacy, respiratory therapy, radiology, occupational therapy, paramedic, and phlebotomy.
“The Board of Directors of the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority is proud to support Valleywise Health in their efforts to bring state-of-the-art training and simulation to Arizona’s healthcare system. In conjunction with our previous grant to Creighton University in support of their Phoenix campus, the Valleywise Health grant furthers our commitment to improving the quality of life in Maricopa County, and more specifically, the quality of healthcare,” said Ron Westad, MCIDA Board Chairman.
About Valleywise Health
Located in Phoenix, Arizona, Valleywise Health (formerly Maricopa Integrated Health System) has a proud tradition of being both the community safety net health care system, with a mission and commitment to serving the underserved and Arizona’s only public teaching hospital. Valleywise Health consists of Valleywise Health Medical Center, Maryvale hospital, the only Level I Trauma Center in Maricopa County verified by the American College of Surgeons to care for both adults and children, Arizona’s only nationally verified Burn Center serving the entire Southwestern United States, the McDowell Healthcare Center, the largest provider of HIV primary care in Arizona, the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic, the Arizona Children’s Center, three behavioral health centers, and 11 neighborhood health centers. To learn more, please visit ValleywiseHealth.org.
About Valleywise Health Strategic Partners
Valleywise Health Foundation, a 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit, was established to raise funds for Valleywise Health programs, educational resources, research, programming, and critical patient services. District Medical Group (DMG) is a not-for-profit integrated medical group practice made up of over 650 providers, representing more than 25 medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties at Valleywise Health. To meet the demand for physicians and healthcare professionals in Arizona, Valleywise Health helped to form the Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance, now one of the state’s largest providers of Graduate Medical Education. To learn more, please visit ValleywiseHealth.org/partners.
About The Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority (MCIDA)
The Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority (MCIDA) helps create and maintain jobs within Maricopa County and assists residents of the County to achieve a better standard of living and way of life. The MCIDA supports projects that impact this community with tax-exempt financing, down payment assistance for home buyers, and community investments in economic development. For more information, please visit www.mcida.com.