Reaching Out

Arizona is facing a severe shortage of primary care providers, and, based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 70% of communities designated as primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas are in rural parts of the state.

To help address these issues, the Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation has awarded the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix a generous grant to be distributed over four years in support of strategic initiatives in rural health and primary care.

Among those initiatives are the development of a Center for Advocacy and Curriculum Toward Underserved Rural Service, or CACTUS, through the Western Rural Education Network, which will create a strategic approach to the health care shortage in rural areas in the state and convene a cohort of students called the Halle Medical Scholars intended to benefit from the center. There are also plans to offer an accelerated, three-year medical school curriculum for the scholars and any other students interested in pursuing rural health or primary care practice.

Katie Brite, associate dean of clinical and competency-based education, is excited about what the grant will help achieve. “The Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation grant will supplement existing support from the University of Arizona and Arizona Health Education Centers that has allowed us to make tremendous progress to date — and it will help achieve our next-level goals,”
she explained.