A Missouri-based health-care university plans to open a Santa Maria location to train the next-generation of physician assistants.
Santa Maria officials have been wooing representatives of A.T. Still University to select the Central Coast for their new location instead of other communities in the state.
Representatives of the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and city of Santa Maria remained mum about details of an announcement planned for Wednesday.
“It’s a very exciting announcement,” said Suzanne Singh, economic development director with the Chamber of Commerce.
Earlier Monday, officials had said the announcement “advances two key priorities, namely increasing educational opportunities in our community and ensuring our local industries have a strong, well-trained workforce.”
Late Monday afternoon, university spokesman Sean O’Connor confirmed to Noozhawk that the medical school will open up in space within the new CoastHills Credit Union headquarters building at the corner of Betteravia Road and Highway 101, with several officials expected to travel to Santa Maria for the announcement Wednesday.
Last month, A.T. Still University began advertising to fill a key position that would be based in Santa Maria, giving a hint of the future expansion.
“A.T. Still University (ATSU) seeks applications and nominations for director of pre-clinical education at a new physician-assistant program located on the central California coast,” according to the advertisement posted April 22.
The advertisement on the university’s website includes a map pointing to the job location as Santa Maria — actually the Chamber of Commerce office.
A university representative said the new program likely would start teaching students by fall 2020 or later.
On Sept. 25 of last year, the City Council, Planning Commission, Chamber of Commerce and other community representatives met with the A.T. Still University officials about opening a Santa Maria location.
An agenda touted the session as “a meet and greet” opportunity, but the visit included giving the guests a tour of the Santa Maria Valley and possible locations for their program.
A.T. Still University, also known as ATSU and established in 1892 by Andrew Taylor Still, is the first institution centered on osteopathic health care.
Osteopathic medicine focuses on a whole-person approach to caring for patients, instead of treating specific symptoms or illnesses.
Today, the nonprofit health sciences university has two campuses — in Kirksville, Missouri, and Mesa, Arizona — with an average enrollment of more than 3,100 students for various health-related graduate programs.
The university’s Santa Maria home will be in the CoastHills headquarters building, which is set to open later this year as part of the massive Enos Ranchos Specific Plan development.
The credit union is based in Vandenberg Village, but CoastHills representatives said all three existing Lompoc Valley branches will continue to operate. One Santa Maria branch, at the Crossroads Shopping Center on Bradley Road, will move into the new building a half-mile away.
With Santa Maria sitting between Cal Poly and UCSB and already home to Allan Hancock College, city leaders have long sought to add higher education opportunities.
In the fall, the University of La Verne inked a deal with Allan Hancock College to start offering bachelor’s degree classes in Santa Maria.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
