Halle Arizona Burn Center marks 60 years of setting burn care standard

For six decades, the Diane & Bruce Halle Arizona Burn Center at Valleywise Health has been a beacon of innovation and healing for burn survivors across Arizona and the Southwest.

What began in 1965 as a five-bed unit at the former Maricopa County General Hospital has grown into one of the busiest and most advanced burn centers in the United States, treating thousands of patients each year.

“The heart of our mission has always been outstanding patient care,” said Dr. Kevin Foster, director of the burn center. “The patient comes first, and a close second is care of the families because a burn injury is not just an injury to a person, it’s an injury to a family and sometimes even to a community.”

Nationally recognized excellence

Now a 50-bed facility, the Halle Arizona Burn Center is the only facility in the state verified as both an adult and pediatric burn center by the American Burn Association, a distinction it has maintained since 2000.

In 2024, the burn center expanded dramatically, nearly tripling its size when it moved into the entire fourth floor of the new Valleywise Health Medical Center. The modern facility is designed around a “new paradigm of care,” Dr. Foster said, one that focuses not only on survival but on restoring patients’ quality of life.

Foster said that 50 to 60 years ago, only half of people with burns over 30% of their body survived their injuries, but today that survival rate is 98%.

“The discussion today isn’t about keeping people alive, it’s about restoring burn survivors’ quality of life,” he said. “How do they deal with their scars and their disabilities and psychological trauma? How do they reintegrate back into work and school communities and learn to be people again?

A model for comprehensive care

Today, the Halle Arizona Burn Center treats roughly 1,500 inpatients and 12,000 outpatients annually, serving as the primary burn resource for Arizona and much of the Southwest. Its integrated team includes surgeons, nurses, dietitians, therapists, pharmacists, social workers, and mental health care providers all focused on the long-term recovery and reintegration of burn survivors.

“We really concentrate on what patients need in the outpatient arena to help them become the people they want to be again,” Foster said.