President Garimella outlines new partnership to train doctors where they’re needed most in recent op-ed
By Jade Norden, University Marketing and Communications
University of Arizona leaders, tribal leaders, healthcare professionals and federal legislators gather to celebrate the announcement of the nation's first MD-granting medical school branch located on the lands of a sovereign Tribal Nation. From left: Levi Esquerra, U of A special advisor to the provost for Native American advancement; U.S. Rep. Eli Crane; Ranita Sharma, executive vice dean and a professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix; COM-P Dean Dr. Fred Wondisford; Regent Steve Peru of the Arizona Board of Regents; University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella; Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis; Gila River Indian Community Councilmember Amy Lynne Morago; Gila River Health Care Chair Robert Pablo; Gila River Indian Community Councilmember Nada Celaya, U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton; and Carolyn Thompson, COO of Gila River Health Care.
Chris Richards/University Communications
In an op-ed published Aug. 22, 2026, in The Arizona Republic, University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella and Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis outline a new partnership between the university and Gila River Health Care (an entity of the Gila River Indian Community) to train doctors where they’re needed most.
The U of A and GRHC have established the nation's first MD-granting medical school branch located on the lands of a sovereign tribal Nation.
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix Regional Medical Branch in Sacaton, Arizona, is designed to educate future physicians within a Tribal healthcare system while strengthening access to healthcare in Tribal, rural and medically underserved communities.
“Communities facing some of the greatest physician shortages are often far removed from the places where doctors are educated and trained,” Garimella and Lewis wrote. “Bringing medical education into communities with significant healthcare needs can therefore be part of the workforce solution itself.”
Beginning in July 2027, 10 students will be admitted annually to the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix's three-year Primary Care Accelerated MD Program. Students will receive full-tuition scholarships funded by GRHC and spend the first 18 months in Phoenix and the final 18 months learning within GRHC in Sacaton.
In the column, Garimella and Roe Lewis discuss how the location physicians train can influence where they ultimately practice.
They cite data from the American Board of Family Medicine showing nearly 43% of physicians from urban backgrounds who completed rural residencies went on to practice in rural areas, compared with about 13% of those who completed urban residencies.
The collaboration with GRHC aims to provide “hands-on training and experiences that will introduce a new generation of doctors to tribal culture and traditions while learning to advance national healthcare goals,” they said.
Garimella and Lewis wrote that the partnership illustrates the role public universities can play in addressing public challenges.
“The mission of land-grant universities like the U of A demands more than identifying society’s problems,” they wrote. “It requires putting our expertise, resources and people to work solving them.”
The work will bring together strengths of both partners to “create stronger pathways to practice in the places that need physicians most.”