Creighton University Building New Health Sciences Campus in Phoenix

/by

PHOENIX, Sept. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire.com/ — Phoenix’s health care landscape is about to change dramatically — as is one of Phoenix’s most iconic properties.

Creighton University – a Jesuit, Catholic University located in Omaha, Nebraska – has reached an agreement on the construction of a new, nearly $100 million health sciences campus at Park Central in midtown Phoenix, a significant expansion of the University’s current presence in the state.

Rendering of Creighton University's new health sciences campus at Park Central
Rendering of Creighton University’s new health sciences campus at Park Central

Phase one of the project includes a new building totaling 200,000 square feet and eventually will house nearly 800 Creighton health sciences students in Arizona. The expansion will include a four-year medical school, nursing school, occupational and physical therapy schools, pharmacy school, physician assistant school and emergency medical services program. A second building adjacent to the first may be added in the future.

The new building will be located along Central Avenue on the Park Central property, on land that is currently a parking lot. Construction on the new building will begin in spring 2019, the first on the Park Central site in decades, and is expected to be completed in spring 2021.

In the interim, Creighton University’s College of Nursing, which launched its first Phoenix-based Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in January, will move into a temporary home at Park Central effective January 2019. The School of Medicine, which first came to Phoenix in 2009, will continue operating its third- and fourth-year programs out of space adjacent to Dignity Heath St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center until construction is completed in Spring 2021.

The new Phoenix campus for Creighton will meet the University’s current needs while providing ample room for expansion in the future, and the central Phoenix location makes it convenient for students doing their residencies and other studies at nearby hospitals.

“Creighton University is preparing for an exciting new era in Phoenix, one that combines our tradition for educational excellence in the health sciences with our distinctive Jesuit, Catholic mission,” said the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, president of Creighton University. “Creighton University has strong connections to the Arizona medical community, and we look forward to expanding our impact by educating many more exceptionally qualified health care professionals to serve the community moving forward.”

Creighton University’s presence in Phoenix is expanding to help meet the growing demand for health care professionals in the coming years. In June 2018, the Creighton University School of Medicine assumed sponsorship of physician graduate medical education training programs at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS), in conjunction with District Medical Group (DMG), encompassing 11 programs with 325 residents and fellows.

Additionally, the four partners have formed the Creighton University-Arizona Health Education Alliance, which was officially launched on Sept. 1, 2017. It is designed to improve and expand current health education programs offered by each of the entities. The Alliance will also develop new academic and clinical education programs in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and allied health. The Alliance’s activities will also be based out of the new Park Central facility.

Governor Doug Ducey, who officially recognized Creighton University’s contributions to the State of Arizona with a proclamation, hailed the Creighton expansion as a significant addition to the state’s health care infrastructure.

“For more than a decade, Creighton University has been a key partner in helping Arizona train highly skilled health care professionals,” said Gov. Ducey.”Their significant new expansion and investment will help to meet our state’s growing need for health care professionals in the coming years, and it’s yet one more way that Arizona is solidifying its reputation as a premier destination for excellence in health care.”

The new Creighton University facility is also a significant boost for the revitalization of Park Central. Sharon Harper, president & CEO of Plaza Companies — which is redeveloping Park Central in partnership with Holualoa Companies — said Creighton is an ideal fit for the project.

“The new Park Central will have a focus not only on the creation of world-class office, retail and public spaces, but also on a commitment to health and innovation,” Harper said. “Creighton University’s commitment to innovating in health care education makes it a great partner, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have them join the Park Central family.”

Phoenix Mayor Thelda Williams welcomed Creighton’s expansion in Phoenix as a dramatic step to strengthen the region’s growing bioscience industry.

“Creighton’s investment in our community will create new jobs and bring new life to a critical property in the heart of midtown Phoenix—but what’s more, it moves us closer to transforming our economy into one rooted in competitive, forward-thinking industries,” said Williams. “I want Phoenix to be a destination for world-class medical education, research, health care and solutions, and our growing partnership with Creighton University is going to help us get there.”

“Creighton University has long had a presence in Greater Phoenix, but their decision to continue expanding here is an indication of the growth and demand we’re seeing in the industry regionally,” said Chris Camacho, president & CEO of Greater Phoenix Economic Council. “As one of the most innovative medical schools, graduates of their health sciences programs will continue to feed the rapidly growing health care sector.”

For more than a decade, Creighton University has been an academic mainstay in Phoenix, sending medical students to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center for rotations. That relationship expanded significantly in 2009 when the University and St. Joseph’s established a Creighton campus for third- and fourth-year medical students at the Phoenixhospital. The St. Joseph’s campus is home to approximately 100 Creighton medical students.

Creighton University, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. It enrolls 4,446 undergraduates and 4,464 graduate and professional students among nine schools and colleges. No other university its size offers students such a comprehensive academic environment with personal attention from faculty-mentors. Visit: www.creighton.edu

SOURCE Creighton University

Related Links

http://www.creighton.edu

Sydney Vail, MD Named Chairman of Valleywise Department of Surgery

/by

Sydney Vail, MD, FACS, a well-known and widely respected name in the field of Trauma, named chairman of Valleywise Health’s Department of Surgery

Originally posted on MIHS.org on September 6, 2018  |  Contact:  Michael Murphy at 602-568-0010

 

sydney vail medical doctorSydney J. Vail, MD, FACS, has been named Chairman, Department of Surgery, at Valleywise Health, Maricopa County’s safety net system of care and public teaching hospital.

In this role, Dr. Vail will oversee all functions of Valleywise’s Department of Surgery, which is comprised of 16 divisions that include: general surgery (including minimally invasive and robotic-assisted surgery), trauma, burn, hand, neurological, otorhinolaryngology, pediatric, plastic, thoracic, surgical critical care, urology, breast surgical oncology, podiatry, physical medicine & rehabilitation, ophthalmology and vascular surgery.

“Dr. Vail is a passionate and innovative professional who has been a national leader in trauma care for decades,” said Steve Purves, Valleywise President and CEO. “His skills and experience, combined with his deep appreciation for our health care system and the community at large, make him uniquely qualified to direct our leading-edge Department of Surgery.”

Dr. Vail has been chief of Valleywise Health’s Trauma Center since 2015, and has led a statewide “Stop the Bleed” campaign that has trained over 3000 Arizona residents, ranging from teachers to public defenders, on how to take action in a bleeding emergency before EMS arrives. Valleywise has the only trauma center in Arizona verified by the American College of Surgeons to treat both adult and pediatric trauma patients, keeping families together in their hour of need.

Dr. Vail is also a deploying team member of the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s SWAT Team; EMS Program Director, U.S. Border Patrol, Tucson and Yuma sectors; EMS Medical Director, Arizona Department of Health Services; and Senior Medical Instructor, International School of Tactical Medicine.

Dr. Vail was the trauma director at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital during the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

After receiving his undergraduate degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Dr. Vail earned his MD from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1989. His clinical training includes internship and residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia; and fellowships in Trauma & Emergency Surgery and surgical and trauma critical care at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital, in Florida.

Dr. Vail is also chairman of the Disaster Preparedness Committee, Trauma Center Association of America and a member of the Phoenix Sky Harbor Emergency Preparedness Committee. He has been honored twice in the Phoenix Business Journal’s “Health Care Heroes” awards, and received the Golden Scalpel Award for excellence in teaching by the Department of Surgery Residency Program, Maricopa Medical Center.

Dr. Vail is a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery in Surgery and Surgical Critical Care, and a Fellow of the Advisory Board Company, in Executive Leadership.

About Valleywise Health Located in Phoenix, Arizona, 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 consists of Maricopa Medical, 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 United States, Valleywise’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 Community Health Centers. To learn more about Valleywise Health, please visit www.mihs.org.