Valleywise Health, a health system located throughout Arizona’s Phoenix Valley, provides an example of the lifesaving, 24/7 care that hospitals and health systems deliver across the U.S.
Valleywise Health’s Arizona Burn Center, the state’s only nationally-verified burn center, provides specialized, complex care to thousands of burn patients each year.
- Since launching in 1965, the Center has cared for patients with every kind of burn, including patients with severe skin infections, diseases and chronic wounds.
- The facility and its staff, which provide critically injured patients a greater than 98% survival rate, are dedicated to increasing the chances their patients will lead a normal life again.
- In order to achieve this goal, a multidisciplinary medical team ranging from burn surgeons and social workers to nutritionists and respiratory therapists cares for each patient.
In addition to its Arizona Burn Center, Valleywise Health also provides specialized mental health crisis services for adolescents and young adults through its First Episode Center.
- The First Episode Center treats young patients experiencing psychosis or other mental health crises, with the goal of making them feel supported and less alone.
- A personalized treatment plan is created for each patient, improving their chances for recovery.
- Peer support, family education and support, cognitive behavioral therapy, and other important treatments are available to all patients at the First Episode Center.
Below, hear from former patients of the Arizona Burn Center and First Episode Center on the high-quality care they received.
“I was expected to be here for two months. The first thought in my head is ‘I got a wife and two small kids at home, I can’t be here two months.’ I turned two months into two weeks.” – Dillon Ryan
After a gas explosion at his business, Dillon was rushed to the hospital. He survived, but 25% of his body was covered in severe burns. The expected two-month hospital stay turned into two weeks thanks to his care team at Valleywise Health Burn Center. Watch here.
“I feel back to my old self.” -Elise Lampley
After experiencing a mental health crisis, Elise was diagnosed with schizophrenia. At the First Episode Center, she was given the tools to deal with her diagnosis. Watch here.
The Arizona Burn Center and the First Episode Center provide specialized, 24/7 care not available at other care centers. Centers of care like these allow patients to fully recover with the help of medical experts.
Cuts to patient care at hospitals and health systems will directly impact patients in immediate need of the advanced, specialized care these centers provide. Send a letter to your Member of Congress to urge them to vote against cuts to care.
Watch additional stories from patients treated at the Valleywise Health Arizona Burn Center:
Bob Woolley burned his hands, forearms, and left leg when trying to push himself up from the ground after falling near his pool. The Arizona Burn Center helped Woolley recover from this incident. Watch here.
After a gas explosion, Jason Nelson had burns covering 80% of his body. He was one of eight burn survivors from the Arizona Burn Center who climbed Africa’s tallest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro. They called themselves Team Courage Rising. Watch here.