Onvida Health partners with University of Arizona College of Medicine
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Onvida Health and the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix are launching a three-year MD program in Yuma, marking Arizona’s first rural regional medical school branch designed to address a critical shortage of physicians in underserved areas.
During the program’s initial three years, up to 15 students will be admitted annually, with coursework and training based at Onvida Health in Yuma. Each student will receive a full-tuition scholarship funded by the hospital. Onvida Health President and CEO Robert Trenschel called the collaboration “transformative for our Yuma community, for the region, for the state of Arizona,” and praised the opportunity to work with “such a prestigious institution like the University of Arizona.”
Graduates of the accelerated program will be able to enter medical residency upon completion, a move leaders hope will bring more physicians to rural parts of the state. University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella, who attended the event, emphasized the program’s potential to retain future doctors in the region.
“I’m hoping that when they train here and they do their clinical rotations here, that they’ll stay here," said Garimella. "If we can address this physician shortage in chunks across the state of Arizona, we’ll be thrilled."
Garimella also highlighted the significance of the full-tuition model, noting that removing the burden of medical school debt will allow graduates to begin their careers focused solely on serving patients.
“The fact that these students will not carry debt is amazing,” he said, adding that it enables them to “start contributing to society” immediately after graduation.
The new MD program is scheduled to begin next July.
