Thursday, April 1, 2010
PRINCESS ANNE, MD – Peninsula Regional Medical Center announced a gift of $100,000 today to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) to help fund a faculty position in the Physician Assistant (PA) Department. Over the next two years, Peninsula Regional will supplement a faculty line in the PA Department with annual donations of $50,000. PRMC has funded the position for the past three years for $50,000 per year, making a five-year investment in the PA position of $250,000.
“We are grateful for Peninsula Regional’s vote of confidence in one of UMES’ premier programs,” said UMES President, Dr. Thelma B. Thompson. “Peninsula Regional is recognized nationally as one of the best hospitals in the country and our Physician Assistant Department is nationally accredited and acknowledged for the rigor of its coursework. This appears to be a marvelous match, a first-rate partnership.”
“This collaboration between Peninsula Regional and UMES will further expand the training and educational opportunities available at the University. The more the Medical Center can support these types of programs the better our facility will be in the future by having these health care professionals available to care for residents in our region,” said Thomas Lawrence, MD, MBA, CMO/Vice President of Medical Affairs, PRMC.
Physician assistants (PA’s)are health care professionals licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PA’s conduct physical examinations, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, and in most states can write prescriptions.
The Physician Assistant Department is a baccalaureate degree granting educational program. The program, committed to providing equal opportunity, promotes health and wellness through the provision of quality primary health care education. Its diverse environment values the discovery of knowledge, the development and dissemination, and practical application of that knowledge through community outreach and service. The PA Department is part of the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, which also includes the departments of Exercise Science, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Services.
The Physician Assistant Department is fully accredited through the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant Inc. (ARC-PA). Graduates meet the educational requirements for eligibility of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants) NCCPA examination and state licensure.
“This gift goes a long way to solidifying the PA/physician team concept, under girding our PArtnership in Medicine relationships and strengthening the current relationship that already exists between PRMC and the UMES PA Department,” said Darlene Jackson-Bowen, chair and program director of the UMES Physician Assistant Department. “This gift is a vehicle that allows educational attainment; and as a result, we are able to reduce the health disparities in access to healthcare by graduating mid-level prim
