This year marks another historic milestone for St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, as the hospital elects its first female chief of staff. Phoenix native Dr. Anne Burns is the groundbreaking leader stepping into this significant role.

Dr. Burns has long had a personal connection to the hospital on Thomas Road, where she herself was born. Her father was a doctor and her mother a nurse at St. Joseph’s, deepening the family’s ties to the institution.

“When I was a junior in high school, I came back and volunteered,” Dr. Burns recalls. “We wore candy striper uniforms back then, and I worked in the pediatric playroom and the gift shop.”

After completing medical school in California, she returned to Arizona and began working at St. Joseph’s in 2002. “It felt like home here,” she says. “My dad was on staff, my mom was a nurse, and it just felt like the right fit.” She even gave birth to one of her sons at the hospital.

Now, as the first woman to be chief of staff at St. Joseph’s, Dr. Burns leads a team of over 1,600 medical staff members. “It's kind of amazing that I am the first female chief of staff at the hospital. It took until 2024 for that to happen, but I'm super proud and honored to be the first and I hope I'm not the last,” she remarks.

Despite her demanding role, Dr. Burns manages to find balance as a busy mother. She hopes to serve as a role model to other young women pursuing careers in medicine or other professional fields.

“I hope that I can inspire other young women, young physicians,” she says. “Women who are considering a career in medicine or any professional career and are concerned about finding balance.”