Med school gets funds to use for new colleges

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima has received a one-time federal appropriation of $400,000 to expand offerings of its two newest colleges, the College of Allied Health Sciences and College of Post Graduate Studies.

"This funding will allow us to move forward with the expansion of programs at PNWU and is an extraordinary financial boost to the private funds we've raised to date," said Dr. Lloyd Butler, acting president.

Butler took over the post on an interim basis last month after the abrupt departure of Dr. Stan Flemming for undisclosed reasons. Flemming has hired a lawyer. The university is conducting a national search for his replacement.

The federal money will be used next year to support new degree programs in the two colleges. For example, the university is in the process of creating a master's level physician assistant program, which officials hope to have accredited and authorized early next year by the State Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Physician assistant programs are usually two years and train students to provide diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive services under the supervision of a physician or surgeon. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in the profession are expected to grow faster than average, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

Neither the College of Allied Health Sciences nor the College of Post Graduate Studies have enrolled students at this point because they are not accredited.

The Allied Health college operates in conjunction with Central Washington University. Students are master's level candidates in biomedical sciences. The College of Post Graduate Studies will train students for research positions.

The university's first program was the College of Osteopathic Medicine, which has 150 students in first- and second-year classes training to become physicians.

Officials sought the federal funds in February under the Public Health Services Act, which aims to produce graduates in high-demand areas such as family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics and other health disciplines.

Butler said Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, was instrumental in securing the funding.

Hastings spokesman Charlie Keller said the funding was an earmark requested by Hastings for the 2010 fiscal year appropriations bill recently signed into law.

Keller said the intent is to bring more qualified medical practitioners to underserved areas of Central Washington. In Washington, 36 of 39 counties, including Yakima, suffer from a shortage of medical providers.

The college's mission is to train physicians for a five-state area: Montana, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Idaho.

* Leah Beth Ward can be reached at 509-577-7626 or lward@yakimaherald.com.