MEDEX PA training program now open on UW Tacoma campus
MEDEX Northwest is proud to have opened its newest site—for 28 students—on the campus of the University of Washington, Tacoma. Our opening ceremony on September 16th honored the entering students, but also the leaders throughout the community who have helped to make this happen. This includes University of Washington Tacoma leaders and faculty members—especially in the Department of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership, educational planners at the community college campuses around Tacoma, and the re-entry teams at the Joint Base Lewis McChord.
At the opening ceremony on September 16th US Congressman Derek Kilmer served as the keynote speaker.
The new UW Tacoma training site joins existing MEDEX sites located in Seattle, Spokane, and Anchorage, Alaska. Madigan In part this new satellite location was selected because of its proximity to Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The opening is part of a national initiative to increase educational and employment opportunities for returning military veterans and to boost the primary care workforce in rural and underserved areas. UW Tacoma is located within 15 miles of JBLM, which makes the campus an ideal location for the MEDEX program. Army Medical Center, located on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, will be one of the practicum sites for MEDEX students. Fourteen class members come from military medical occupations. Many of these men and women have been had multiple deployments in their recent careers. In addition, 5 of the students are military spouses. The rest of the students come primarily from rural communities in Western Washington. These students have not previously had access to a PA education because of their family and community responsibilities.
MEDEX also acknowledges the support from the Health Resources and Services Administration who have provided partial funding through a Title 7 Grant in keeping with the White House priority of returning military medical personnel to civilian military jobs. In speeches MEDEX leadership acknowledged the long-term support that PAs have enjoyed in the Tacoma medical community including MD and PA preceptors and sponsoring physicians in every health care system in the community. This strong PA presence creates a wonderful environment for the incoming Tacoma Class 1 students.