The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust has announced a $10 million grant in support of a collaboration between Creighton University and the Phoenix chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul aimed at improving access and quality of care while increasing the number of skilled medical professionals.

The partnership, which is focused on addressing the health disparities that disproportionately affect low-income populations and people of color, will work to more deeply integrate the society's Virginia G. Piper Medical Clinic into the curriculum of the Creighton Health Sciences – Phoenix Campus. For more than a decade, Creighton faculty and third- and fourth-year medical students have volunteered at the clinic, which will serve as the primary teaching facility for first- and second-year medical students and enable them to spend more time with physicians while learning to care for underserved patient populations.

Medical, nursing, physician assistant, occupational therapy, and physical therapy faculty and students will work together to serve patients at a weekly interprofessional clinic, employing a team-based approach shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. As the organizations navigate the new care model, they will continue to evaluate their strategies and develop new practices focused on reducing inequities in the healthcare system. To that end, the Virginia G. Piper Fellowship in Health Disparities — a recently established initiative at Creighton School of Medicine — will conduct research dedicated to helping drive systemic change and patient-focused improvements in care.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the impact of failing to prepare for and respond to broad, unaddressed health inequities in our community,” said Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust president and CEO Mary Jane Rynd. “The need is urgent, and our response cannot wait. Now is the time for higher education, social services, and philanthropy to join and use our collective capacity to create a healthier, more resilient future.”