The Harrisville Building, which houses the Physician’s Assistant program, was officially dedicated on September 23 with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The ceremony had several representatives from the community and the council of trustees, President Norton and several of the university’s administration.
The building includes 13 labs rooms with various equipment to help guide the students in the 24-month Physician’s Assistant program.
Scott Massey, the Physician’s Assistant program director and biology professor, said the first class started in May of 2016 and students have been using the building since, with the official ribbon cutting coming after wall artwork and pictures were added.
Massey said that the lab facilities are highly effective.
“We can videotape students, watch them as they interview mock patients and then give them feedback,” Massey said.
The building also features a simulator that helps students to learn how to respond in various situations, such as an emergency or if a patient has certain symptoms.
Massey said the SRU program is the fourth program he has been involved with and that it is the best facility he’s had access to. The university looked at what other programs were doing and wanted to give the best possible experience to students, including purchasing the highest fidelity simulator on the market.
Massey said students are enjoying the experience and the facility has bene visited by those in the medical field, such as an executive from the Butler Health system who said the students’ preparation is outstanding.
“I think the program is fortunate to have had the support of the university to provide us with the state of the art facility,” Massey said. “The program is poised to be very successful.”
In the future, Massey said that he would like to be able to provide a student-run clinic in the future and that there are some early talks of getting an occupational therapy program featured at the building.
