Dignity Health and Global University Systems announce joint venture to expand global education for health professionals

Dignity Health, one of the US’ largest health systems, and Global University Systems (GUS) today announced the launch of a new joint venture creating Dignity Health Global Education, a new company that will provide online academic degrees, as well as professional, executive, and leadership training to clinical and non-clinical professionals in the health industry in the United States (U.S.) and other nations.

Dignity Health Global Education’s portfolio will include credit and non-credit-bearing industry-designed professional training courses, programs, and degrees exclusively designed and co-developed with partner universities. The first hallmark partnership will be with Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE), part of Duke University. Duke CE has been ranked as one of the top three global Executive Education providers for over a decade and works with the world’s leading companies to train leaders globally. The partnership’s first program offering will be a Certificate in Nurse Leadership.

“Our entire health industry ecosystem needs to open more professional pathways that lead into medical careers. That is why we are excited to pair Duke CE with Dignity Health Global Education to bring professional health care training and development to the next level,” said Lloyd Dean, president and CEO of Dignity Health.

“Dignity Health has a commitment to furthering the education, training, and development of our clinical and non-clinical workforce so that we are better prepared to meet the health care needs of our patients and communities. This higher education will expand training to the best-in-class providers who we need to address the future health needs of our nation and across the globe.”

“In our view, the demand for outstanding leadership in health care has never been greater,” said Michael Chavez, Duke CE CEO. “We are proud of this collaborative partnership with Dignity Health Global Education and excited at the opportunity to help a new generation of health care leaders get ready for what’s next.”

Aaron Etingen, CEO of Global University Systems said:

“At Global University Systems, we believe that, in a rapidly changing world, it’s critical to align ourselves with best-in-class employers and industry partners to develop education solutions based on partner and employee needs. Working with the scale of an organization like Dignity Health, a future-forward leader in health care, with more than 60,000 employees and 10,000 physicians across its 41 hospitals, is going to be transformative. Our joint venture gives us the ability to design relevant courses together with Dignity Health and share the content with the world. This is a truly unique opportunity for GUS, our partners, our students, and our faculty.”

“As one of largest health care systems in the U.S., we understand that there is a clear demand for ongoing, lifelong clinical skillsets and health management education around the globe,” said Gregg Davis, chief administrative officer of Dignity Health International. “Dignity Health has a commitment to furthering the education, training, and development of our clinical and non-clinical workforce so that we are better prepared to meet the health care needs of our patients and communities. We recognize we need a strong global education partner to assist us in achieving our goals and are very proud to now be working with Global University Systems on an initiative that will enable us to expand this commitment to our partners and to health care professionals globally.”

The joint venture, formalized and agreed in 2018, will be built upon Global University Systems’ education technology expertise and will blend both classroom-based and online learning alongside Dignity Health’s industry expertise, placements, and professional mentoring. The flexible online and blended offerings will allow professionals to access this ongoing education and learning remotely, on multiple devices, when they need it, and at a pace they can control. This new standard of academic excellence will help them gain the skills needed to develop their careers globally.

Programs will be open to clinical, administrative, and management health care professionals based in the U.S. and internationally, and will focus on training and education to improve workforce development, quality, and ultimately, patient outcomes.

The new company will be led by CEO Andrew Malley, an education specialist with over 20 years of experience globally. New courses, partnerships, and projects will be rolled out throughout 2019, ensuring that Dignity Health Global Education becomes a go-to platform for health care professionals and organizations both in the U.S. and internationally.

About Dignity Health: One of the nation’s largest health care systems, is a multi-state network of 10,000 physicians, more than 60,000 employees, 41 acute care hospitals and 400-plus care-centers, including neighborhood hospitals, urgent care, surgery and imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics. Headquartered in San Francisco, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. In FY 2018, Dignity Health provided $2.1 billion in charitable care and services. 

About Global University Systems (GUS): Owns and operates one of the world’s most diverse networks of higher education institutions, with over 60,000 students in six countries and a global presence online. Leading UK-based institutions such as The University of Law, London School of Business and Finance (LSBF), Arden University, University Canada West, the University of Applied Sciences Europe, and the Berlin-based GISMA Business School are part of the group, which owns four universities and a wide network of language, business, and professional schools. As well as the UK and Germany, the group operates institutions in Canada, Ireland, Israel, and Singapore.