Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and ASU President Michael Crow addressed ASU Health's role in confronting health disparities at the groundbreaking of its new headquarters in downtown Phoenix Thursday.
The 175,000-square-foot building, located in the Phoenix Bioscience Core, will house the John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering, the School of Technology for Public Health, as well as programs within the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation and the College of Health Solutions.
At the event, Crow discussed the vast wealth and health disparities in the United States. He said the country spends more than double on health care per capita than any other country in the world, and still ranks below the top 25.
Crow said ASU Health is an objective, not a thing. He said Arizona already has two state-supported medical schools, which are "necessary, but insufficient."
His reconceptualization of health care, which he said he first detailed in a 2011 Nature Magazine article, breaks it down into three institutes: one for studying human health and links between behavior and disease, one for addressing health disparities in underserved areas and one for lowering the cost of health care.
"This is going to be a center hub in downtown Phoenix where all of these things that we've heard about this morning can be talked about: new innovations, new ways to accelerate women's health, new ways to educate people, new ways to do things in startup companies," Crow said. "That's what's needed."
READ MORE: ASU to launch new medical school in 2026 with nine-figure gift from alum John Shufeldt
In an interview with The State Press after the speech, Crow further discussed his plan to care for rural communities.
"We have to build technologies and innovate new ways to do things where it doesn't make any difference where you live, you're going to have access to high-quality health care and that's something that's not the case now," Crow said. "We have to make more innovations, more tools, lower the cost and make it available to everybody."
Equipped with innovation suites, an artificial intelligence hub and virtual reality classrooms, Phoenix Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington said ASU Health will strive to use interdisciplinary, innovative practices to address Arizona's health care disparities.
"These headquarters represent the full vision of the issue, a place where disciplines come together to solve real challenges," Hodge Washington said. "This isn't just one school, it's a connected system designed to improve how we educate (and) innovate."
Dr. Sarah "Holly" Hollingsworth Lisanby will spearhead health care innovation as the founding dean of the Shufeldt School. She said the medical technology innovation suites are still in the planning phase, but will become an important part of the school curriculum.
Students will develop engineering solutions to unmet health needs as a part of their capstone research projects, Lisanby said.
READ MORE: ASU medical school builds curriculum from 'ground up' to address health disparities
During the ceremony, Gallego emphasized ASU Health's focus on first responder health and safety, referring to occupational cancer for firefighters.
"We've lost too many of our team," Gallego said. "I think this could be a national model that will save firefighter lives far beyond Arizona."
She also said women's health care needs "disrupting," which has become a focus for ASU Health.
"Dr. Crow and I have talked about so often (that) when you're doing medical devices, it seems to be for 30-year-old men," Gallego said. "A lot of us have different challenges that are not 30-year-old men's challenges."
The event wrapped with a ceremonial groundbreaking. Officials and ASU leaders picked up ASU-branded shovels and became the first to dig into the site of the new ASU Health headquarters.
Hobbs said she is proud the city invested in ASU Health and the Arizona Board of Regents' AZ Healthy Tomorrow initiative to close health care workforce gaps and improve health care performance in the state.
"Every diploma here is a workforce gap that gets a little bit smaller," she said. "Every investment we make today is a healthier Arizona tomorrow."
Edited by Kate Gore, Senna James and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at sevoorhe@asu.edu and @sydneyontheair on Instagram.
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