President Obama Acknowledges Value of Physician Assistants in Health Care Reform
Glenside, Pa.—March 12, 2010—Physician Assistant programs shared a bit of the spotlight on Monday, March 8, as President Barack Obama specifically named “physician assistants” as part of the growing health care team that would be trained under proposed health care reforms. Obama delivered an address on health care at Arcadia’s Kuch Center to a crowd of several thousand campus and community members.
He was surrounded on stage by five Arcadia University Physician Assistant students and the Director of Arcadia’s program, Dr. Michael Dryer, at the time he made the announcement.
President Obama noted that the plan “would help train new doctors and nurses … and physician assistants. I know there are great programs here at Arcadia,” he said. “I was hearing about the terrific programs you have at Arcadia in the health care field. Well, you know what, we’re going to need more health care professionals of the sorts that are being trained here, and we want to help you get that training. And that’s in this bill.”
Dr. Dryer noted that physician assistants (PAs) help to lower the overall cost of medical services by delivering high-quality, cost-effective health care in a wide variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, physicians’ offices and other community settings.
Arcadia University’s Physician Assistant graduate program is among the largest in the country, with more than 200 students enrolled. In addition to the Glenside, Pa., campus, Arcadia established the first PA program in Delaware several years ago.
About Arcadia University: Arcadia University is a top-ranked private university in metropolitan Philadelphia, with an additional health science campus in Christiana, Del. The 2009 Open Doors report ranks Arcadia University 1st in the nation among master’s universities in the percentage of undergraduate students studying abroad. U.S. News & World Report ranks Arcadia University among the top master’s universities in the North, as one of the top study abroad programs in the nation, and a “top up-and-coming school.” Arcadia University promises a distinctively global, integrative and personal learning experience that prepares students to contribute and prosper in a diverse and dynamic world.
