Six New Programs Provisionally Accredited by ARC-PA in March

On March 27, the ARC-PA announced six more institutions would join the ranks of provisionally-accredited PA programs:

1. Adventist University of Health Sciences is a Seventh-day Adventist institution in Orlando, Florida. The PA program will enroll 25 students each summer trimester. The program director and department chair is Mark A. Payne, DHSc, PA-C.
2. Florida International University-Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami is South Florida’s only public medical school. The PA program will launch in August 2015 with an estimated 45–50 students. Pete Gutierrez, MD, MMC, PA-C, is the founding chair and associate dean.
3. Lynchburg College — a private, independent school in central Virginia — plans to welcome its initial cohort of 25 PA students in June 2015. Jeremy M. Walsh, MPAS, DHSc, PA-C, EM-CAQ, serves as the program’s director.
4. Mercyhurst University is a Catholic, liberal arts university with its main campus in Erie, Pennsylvania. The university’s PA program will enroll 20 students who will begin class in June 2015. Catherine Gillespie, DHSc, MPAS, serves as the program’s chair.
5. Ohio University is a public research university. Its PA program will be housed at the institution’s Integrated Education Center in Dublin (near Columbus). James Zedaker, MPAS, PA-C, EM-CAQ, EMT-P, heads the program as director. Classes will begin in May 2015 with an anticipated class size of 45.
6. Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions is located in Provo, Utah, about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City. The PA program will matriculate its inaugural PA class in May 2015. David Payne, MPAS, serves as program director.