Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University announced today that the application period has opened for its Physician Assistant Educational Program for the 2019-20 academic year. Classes for this cohort will begin in the summer of 2019.

The Physician Assistant Program at Heritage University is one of three healthcare industry-related programs (the other two being the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the Master of Arts in Medical Science) that exist to meet the demand for highly-qualified medical professionals that are in high demand in rural communities like the Yakima Valley.

Dr. Linda Dale, the director of the P.A. Program at Heritage, is thrilled to be providing students with the education and training they need to become successful medical professionals. “We are excited to soon begin the process of sifting through thousands of inquiries and hundreds of applications from around the country from people who want to become physician assistants,” said Dr. Dale. “We will choose the top 32 candidates who want to concentrate their work in underserved, rural areas like ours.”

Dr. Dale said the program is fully committed to providing students with the best education possible and has already surpassed two other program goals related to rural health care; the first was to have two-thirds of graduates working in an underserved area (actual percentage is nearly 70 from the first three classes). The second goal was to have at least half of the graduates working in primary care (the actual is just over 50%).

The Physician Assistant program is a partnership between Heritage University and Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences with which the University has a deep and growing relationship.  “The P.A. program is a tremendous example of our collaborative effort to provide for the healthcare needs of The Valley,“ said Edward Bilsky,Provost and Chief Academic Officer and Professor of Biomedical Sciences at PNWU.  “We continue to explore additional opportunities on which we can work together in the future to continue to meet those needs.”

To learn more about the P.A. Program at Heritage, visit heritage.edu/PAprogram. For more information contact Linda Dale at (509) 865-0707.

 

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