The Cannon Foundation, of Concord, N.C., has made a $100,000 grant to the Ever Ƶ Campaign to support the university’s new master of science program in physician assistant studies. The PA program will address the ongoing shortage of primary health-care providers in many rural and urban areas by preparing skilled professionals who are ready to fill the gap in patient care and make a difference in underserved communities.
Ƶ’s PA students will provide critical diagnostic, therapeutic and preventative services in a cost-effective manner under the supervision of a physician. During the two-and-a-half-year program, PA students will master the principles, skills and procedures of internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, psychiatry and primary-care medicine. The program could enroll its inaugural class as early as fall 2012 or January 2013.
The Cannon Foundation has been a longtime donor to the university, making generous gifts to support the Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center and R.N. Ellington Health & Counseling Center among other initiatives.
“The Cannon Foundation’s Board of Directors has confidence in Ƶ because of the progress it has made in recent years,” says Frank Davis, executive director. “The foundation has long had an interest in health care for rural, underserved populations, and Ƶ has indicated this would be a focus of its PA program.”
“We are grateful to The Cannon Foundation for once again partnering with Ƶ by investing in our vision for this important new academic program,” says Jim Piatt, vice president for university advancement.