M.S. Physician Assistant Program Receives Grant to Help Underserved Communities

SEASIDE, Ca., July 24, 2019 – California State University, Monterey Bay’s (CSUMB) Master of Science Physician Assistant Program (MSPA) has received a grant from California’s Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development’s (OSHPD) Song-Brown Healthcare Workforce Development Training Program. The grant, totaling $72,000, will provide funding to the MSPA program to provide clinical training and education to PA students to prepare them to provide medical care to patients in underserved communities.

"We are honored to receive this grant. With 56% of our students being from underserved backgrounds, these funds will provide additional resources for their education, create new rural clinical experiences, and enable us to more effectively attract applicants from underserved communities in the tri-county area,” said MSPA founding program director, Christopher Forest.

CSUMB’s 28-month MSPA program is the first program of its type in the California State University (CSU) system and aims to help address the urgent need for more primary-care health providers on California’s Central Coast.

 

As the first of its kind in the CSU system, the MSPA program is just one example of the cutting-edge potential of CSUMB to serve the needs of our region.”

— CSUMB College of Health Services and Human Sciences (CHSHS) Dean, Britt Rios-Ellis.

MSPA Inaugural Cohort, Class of 2021

“The primary strategic goal of our college is to serve as the health sciences and human services workforce training hub for the central coast. Our MSPA Program provides a solution to the primary care provider shortage and we are thrilled to see our first cohort begin their clinical rotations in January,” said CSUMB College of Health Services and Human Sciences (CHSHS) Dean, Britt Rios-Ellis. “As the first of its kind in the CSU system, the MSPA program is just one example of the cutting-edge potential of CSUMB to serve the needs of our region.”

The Song-Brown program funds institutions and education programs that train primary care health professionals to provide clinical training, education and healthcare in California’s medically underserved areas.