We are the Emergency Medicine Residency of Creighton University School of Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona, formerly known as Maricopa County Emergency Medicine.

We lovingly call our program COPA which now stands for Creighton of Phoenix Arizona.

Our hospital’s name has also changed to Valleywise Health Medical Center, previously known as Maricopa Medical Center. Even though our name has changed, we are still proud to be a county program that serves as a safety net hospital for underserved populations in Maricopa County. While our brand new hospital opened in June 2024, our roots as a county hospital run deep.

Valleywise Health Medical Center is a 233-bed, Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center that cares for patients from all over the state of Arizona and that specifically serves as the safety net for Maricopa County. The medical center offers Adult Emergency Medical Services with an ED census of approximately 75,000 patients/year (and growing).

The new Valleywise Health Medical Center opened in 2024. A brand new 673,000 square-foot, 10-story Valleywise Health Medical Center opened on the same grounds as the original hospital. Along with the new medical center, the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Pavilion will open, serving as a clinical education building and meeting space for administrative services and the community.

The Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance is a partnership between Creighton University, Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Valleywise Health Medical Center, and District Medical Group with has strengthened and expanded the Graduate Medical Education programs offered by each institution.

Even though our name is different, we are still the same, legendary residency program proudly serving the Valley of Phoenix, AZ. Our vision, Values, and principles remain the same.

Our organization’s primary duty is to develop board certified emergency physicians with the skills to be leaders in emergency medicine. We aspire to be a close-knit, supportive residency that ensures residents excel in the pursuit of professional and personal goals while fostering a culture of academic excellence and service to the community.

Becoming a leader in the field of emergency medicine requires many special talents. Emergency management skills, medical knowledge, and an inherent ability to quickly and accurately recognize the seriousness of a patient’s condition presenting to the ED are all critical to optimum patient care. The recognition and development of these talents is what separates the best training programs from the rest. Creighton/ ValleyWise Health offers a program tailored to excellence in every category and an atmosphere that is contagious about teaching, resident learning, and helping you achieve those goals to be THE DOCTOR YOU WANT TO BE.

​​As the Program Director of a program that finds its roots established in 1983, I am personally 110% committed to creating an environment of excellence and going above and beyond in every area of your experience here. The entire faculty feels the same. At Creighton/ValleyWise Health, you will have the unique and unprecedented opportunity to be a part of an exciting time in the program’s history and participate in the structuring and development of how the program unfolds and further a cornerstone of our program amongst residents and faculty alike – Copa Pride.

You are unlikely to find a group that will be more receptive, sensitive and responsive to your input and needs because we are on a path toward becoming one of the premiere programs in the country and know that we’ll get there faster by encouraging and valuing your feedback.

You’ll also live and learn in Phoenix – one of the most exciting, and diverse cities in the country. Our residency program mirrors those qualities and will prepare you for anything and everything that your future in emergency medicine may expose you to. The experience you will get in just a few years at Creighton/ValleyWise Health could take a decade of clinical practice in many other areas of the country.

A truly unique time for an exciting program in a fast paced work environment. Your future as an emergency physician is only as good as your foundation and we are prepared to help you ensure that the initial step in paving the way for your future is rock-solid. Accept nothing but the best, as do we, from yourself and our program that PRIDES ITSELF ON TRADITION & THE PEOPLE.

Are you ready?