Dr. Brite Hillis (second from left) at the announcement of the regional campus alongside Jonathan Cartsonis, MD, assistant dean of Rural Health, Dean Fred Wondisford, MD, MS, MBA, Ken Knox, MD, vice dean of Academic and Faculty Affairs, Ranita Sharma, MD, executive vice dean of the college, and Patricia A. Prelock, PhD, provost and chief academic officer at the U of A.
Kathleen Brite Hillis, MD, has been named the interim vice dean of Medical Education at the newly announced University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, Yuma Branch in collaboration with Onvida Health. Establishing this regional branch is a major step taken by the college to address the significant physician shortage facing the state of Arizona. Dr. Brite will also continue to lead the Office of Community Engagement in Phoenix.
Beginning in July 2026, the U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix officially launches its three-year Primary Care Accelerated Pathway (PCAP) leading to an MD degree, with clinical training based entirely at Onvida Health in Yuma. Fifteen students will matriculate into the program each year, from a competitive applicant pool, committed to careers in primary care (internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics) with full tuition scholarships funded by Onvida Health.
In her new role, Dr. Brite Hillis will oversee the 18 months of clinical training the students undergo at Onvida Health, which will encompass all required clerkships and other training requirements.
“For nearly 15 years, Dr. Brite Hillis has worked to advance our priorities in undergraduate medical education (UME), focusing on rural and tribal regions of our state. She has studied, strategized and built strong partnerships with health care delivery sites across the state, developed Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships (LIC), bridged UME training with the Graduate Medical Education (GME) continuum and established the clinical components of the three-year medical school curriculum,” said Dean Fred Wondisford, MD, MS, MBA. “These rural efforts were major building blocks in the evolution and culmination of the College’s Yuma regional branch.”
About the College
Founded in 2007, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix inspires and trains exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders to advance its core missions in education, research, clinical care and service to communities across Arizona. The college’s strength lies in our collaborations and partnerships with clinical affiliates, community organizations and industry sponsors. With our primary affiliate, Banner Health, we are recognized as the premier academic medical center in Phoenix. As an anchor institution of the Phoenix Bioscience Core, the college is home to signature research programs in neurosciences, cardiopulmonary diseases, immunology, informatics and metabolism. These focus areas uniquely position us to drive biomedical research and bolster economic development in the region.
As an urban institution with strong roots in rural and tribal health, the college has graduated more than 1,000 physicians and matriculates 130 students each year. Greater than 60% of matriculating students are from Arizona and many continue training at our GME sponsored residency programs, ultimately pursuing local academic and community-based opportunities. While our traditional four-year program continues to thrive, we will launch our recently approved accelerated three-year medical student curriculum with exclusive focus on primary care. This program is designed to further enhance workforce retention needs across Arizona.
The college has embarked on our strategic plan for 2025 to 2030. Learn more.
By: Thomas Kelly | February 10, 2026 | Original Post