Arizona Health Education Alliance

Four Impressive Partners. One Exceptional Alliance.

The Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance partnership is a framework for collaboration that will leverage expertise and resources to facilitate shared interests in collaboration across multiple disciplines of health science, clinical learning environment, research and teaching medical students, residents, fellows, nurses, allied health and related health professionals.

Residencies and Fellowships

Our Mission

Partner Institutions

Preparing Healthcare Providers For The Challenges Ahead

Arizona ranks in the bottom third of the nation for the number of physicians per 100,000 people. As one of the nation’s fastest growing states, Arizona needs more physicians and other medical professionals to meet the growing demand for services. The state is home to an aging population as well as new generations of Arizonans. The Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance addresses the medical professional shortage by strengthening and expanding Residency and Fellowship programs among its partner institutions and provides the infrastructure, support and resources to elevate those training experiences.

Surgery professionals in hospital posing for photo and smiling

Residencies and Fellowships

Creighton University School of Medicine-Phoenix offers seventeen residency and fellowship programs in the Valley. Our residents and fellows represent some of the best and brightest from the finest medical schools across the country and world, and our programs are at the forefront of advanced medical education, scholarly activity and training of new generations of physicians committed to compassionate care with a patient-centric focus.

The programs reflect a climate of collaboration and support and a diverse patient population offers learners challenging and rewarding opportunities to improve the health outcomes of our community, state and nation.

View Our Residencies and Fellowships

Our Mission

Train exceptional health professionals distinguished by our focus on justice in healthcare, service to others and an innovative interprofessional environment.

About the Partners

Creighton University

Creighton University is a nationally ranked and recognized institution that delivers a leading health sciences education. Its interprofessional approach reflects the future of clinical care and is an extension of its classroom teaching. The School of Medicine is committed to preparing students for the medical opportunities and challenges in patient care, teaching, research and service. The College of Nursing has a national reputation for excellence in providing nursing education, a commitment to service, and being at the forefront of the ever-changing field of nursing. The School of Pharmacy and Health Professions has a rich tradition and history of being a pioneer in educating occupational therapists, pharmacists and physical therapists.

Valleywise Health

Valleywise Health 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, the only Level I Trauma Center in Arizona 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 U.S., Valleywise Health’s McDowell Healthcare Center, which is the largest provider of HIV primary care in Arizona, the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic, the Arizona Children’s Center, two behavioral health centers, and 13 neighborhood Family Health Centers.

DISTRICT MEDICAL GROUP, INC. (DMG)

DMG is a not-for-profit entity consisting of more than 650 credentialed providers representing all the major medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties. Professional clinical services encompass all physicians and mid-levels staffing a 450 bed acute hospital, a 200 bed psychiatric hospital, a large diagnostic center, 11 family health centers, a nationally and internationally recognized burn center and numerous outreach programs. DMG serves AHCCCS Complete Care patients and their families at the DMG Children’s Rehabilitative Services, a first-of-its-kind Multi-Specialty Interdisciplinary Clinic (MISC) in Phoenix. More than 95 percent of DMG physicians are board certified in over 25 specialties.

DIGNITY HEALTH ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER

St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center is part of Dignity Health, which recently merged with Catholic Health Initiatives to form the largest Catholic health care system in the country. St. Joseph’s is a nationally recognized center for quality tertiary care, medical education and research. It includes the internationally renowned Barrow Neurological Institute®, the Norton Thoracic Institute, Center for Women's Health and a Level I Trauma Center verified by the American College of Surgeons. The hospital is also a respected center for orthopedics, internal medicine, primary care and many other medical services. Founded in 1895 by the Sisters of Mercy, St. Joseph’s was the first hospital in the Phoenix area.

DIGNITY HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP (DHMG)

DHMG, an affiliate partner, comprises more than 200 physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse midwives. Its support staff of more than 500 covers a wide variety of specialties. With 30 practice sites and four hospitals interspersed throughout metro Phoenix, it provides more than 20 subspecialty services. DHMG physician faculty take their academic commitment seriously, staying up-to-date on the latest medical information and procedures in order to ensure that students and residents have the best experience possible.

Leadership

A Governing Board made up of representatives from each partnering organization provides strategic direction in policy, budgetary and infrastructure matters. Affiliate Alliance partner Dignity Health Medical Group is also represented on the governing board.

Governing Board

Michael D. White, MD, MBA - Chair
Executive Vice President | Chief Clinical Officer, Valleywise Health

Mardell Wilson, EdD, RDN
Provost, Creighton University

Robert "Bo" Dunlay, MD
Dean, Creighton University School of Medicine

Tim Bricker
President for the Dignity Health Southwest and Midwest Division

Steve Purves
President and CEO, Valleywise Health

Kote Chundu, MD
President and CEO, District Medical Group (DMG)

David Wisinger, MD
Chief Medical Officer, District Medical Group (DMG)

Corey Karlin-Zysman, MD
Sr. Vice President, Physician Enterprise AZ/NV Commonspirit (DHMG)

Creighton University Health Sciences Campus – Phoenix

Email General Inquiries
Alliance@creighton.edu

Phone
602.812.3120

To learn more about the Creighton University Health Sciences Campus – Phoenix, please visit our Phoenix campus website.

For assistance navigating campus please view our campus map.

School of Medicine, Phoenix Campus

School of Pharmacy and Health Professions

College of Nursing, Phoenix Campus

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions and Answers

What is the Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance?

In September 2017, Creighton University, Dignity Health-St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Valleywise Health and District Medical Group entered into a strategic partnership with a primary focus to strengthen and expand Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs administered by each institution. The Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance serves as the centralized organization administering residencies and fellowships previously sponsored by the two hospital members.

Why was the Alliance established?

Creighton University School of Medicine’s excellent reputation and presence in Phoenix since 2011 provided an opportunity for Alliance members to collaborate with an academic partner to attract top-caliber faculty and students to its residency and fellowship programs and provide advanced training opportunities to medical professionals currently practicing in state.

How will the Alliance help the people of Arizona?

The collaborative organization is focused on expanding and strengthening advanced medical training, accelerating research opportunities, and advocating for medical education resources. The partnership’s goal to elevate and expand health sciences education and programming to new generations of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals to improve the health outcomes for our community, state and nation. Arizona currently ranks in the bottom third of all U.S. states in the number of practicing physicians per 100,000 people. With its booming population, metro Phoenix and the state need more physicians and health professionals, and those professionals need more local, high-quality training opportunities.

How is the Alliance structured?

Governance is led by the Alliance board of directors made up of representatives from the member organizations that make up the Alliance. The board is responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating the Alliance strategic plan for nurturing optimal clinical and academic learning environments. Operationally, the Alliance is led by Executive Director Erica Brown and her staff.

How is the Alliance funded?

Each core member of the Alliance contributes to the operation. This funding covers staffing, facility leasing, and other general operating expenses.

How many residents and fellows train at Alliance member institutions?

More than 330 residents and fellows within 17 different specialties/sub-specialties currently train at member institutions. More often than not, residents stay in the community where they complete their training.

What role does the Alliance have in Creighton University’s Health Sciences Phoenix Campus?

Creighton University is solely responsible for its Health Science Campus in Phoenix but Alliance goals complement those schools and colleges. Alliance member institutions will benefit from the pipeline of future healthcare professionals trained by Creighton faculty and Creighton benefits from Alliance programs that provide residencies, fellowships, clinical rotation primacy and other training opportunities for Creighton health science learners.

Will this partnership impact current teaching and research relationships in health education?

Although the member institutions have primary responsibility to Creighton learners, both Valleywise and St. Joseph’s are committed to continuing to support training opportunities for students from other schools and colleges. Similarly, collaborations in research are expected to grow.