JWU’s State-of-the-Art Facility Dedicated to Physician Assistant Studies

JWU recently unveiled plans for a new 18,000-sq. foot facility to house its developing PA program, which is the first planned of its kind in Rhode Island. The December dedication drew leaders from Rhode Island’s medical, education, government and business communities, including Governor Lincoln Chafee, who spoke of the importance of investing in the state’s health care economy.

Innovative New Facility in Providence’s Knowledge District
The Center for Physician Assistant Studies will be located on Clifford St. in Providence’s Knowledge District, close to JWU’s Downcity Campus and situated along a growing high-tech health services, research and education corridor that includes Brown University’s new medical school and RI Hospital.

Center director George Bottomley, DVM, PA-C, sees the program’s development as an incredible opportunity to build a statewide coalition of local universities, healthcare institutions and medical educators: “Rhode Island is perfectly sized to grow and incubate a program such as ours.”

Rhode Island Connection
As a native Rhode Islander, Bottomley is proud to usher in the state’s first planned PA program.

“I’ve developed and directed plans in other states but doing this in RI is special to me,” he told the assembled crowd. “When I meet with people — as I’ve met with many of you here today — the conversation gets around to where we’re from. We discover a Rhode Island connection. It just changes the conversation and suddenly the project becomes more local, more personal, more special.”

“Rigorous classroom learning, state-of-the-art lab experiences and top-flight clinical rotations will prepare PA students for high paying, in-demand jobs in a growing health care sector that will make a real difference in our communities,” said JWU Providence Campus President Mim Runey.

About JWU’s PA Program
JWU anticipates a June 2014 start date for the program, which is in development and is currently seeking provisional accreditation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA). (Provisional accreditation is the only entry way for new programs into the accreditation process.) An ARC-PA site visit is scheduled in June 2013, with a decision expected in September 2013.

The university anticipates enrolling 24 students in its first class. The first year of the two-year, year-round program includes classroom instruction, while the second year is devoted to clinical rotations.