Six years after Santa Maria leaders heralded a medical school choosing to open its Central Coast program in their city, A.T. Still University has announced plans to relocate to San Luis Obispo.
On Thursday, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences (ATSU) announced the nonprofit school had signed a lease for a campus in San Luis Obispo and intends to move from Santa Maria in summer 2026.
The new campus boasts a 65,000-square-foot building — formerly Mindbody, Inc. — and parking structure for 400 vehicles at 651 Tank Farm Road.
“We remain strongly committed to the Santa Maria Valley and Santa Barbara County, where many of our students will continue to complete their clinical education,” said ATSU-CHC Dean Eric Sauers. “We are excited to extend our reach and impact through new program development made possible with this move, and will continue our focus on recruiting students from the Central Coast and educating them throughout the region.”
Since its first class, the Central Coast program has operated on the second level of the CoastHills Credit Union building on East Betteravia Road near Highway 101.
ATSU leaders and city officials gathered in May 2019 to announce plans to start a new two-year, master’s program for physician assistants in Santa Maria, adding to the ATSU offerings in Missouri and Arizona.
After a pandemic-related delay, the first class of 90 students arrived in Santa Maria in September 2021 with the program aiming to develop community-oriented physician assistants who provide whole person primary care to underserved communities.
The launch achieved the city’s long-discussed goal of attracting higher education programs to the Santa Maria Valley.
“We know they are still very much invested in the city of Santa Maria. They were looking for available space within the city and we were trying our best (to find a new facility),” Assistant City Manager Chuen Wu said Thursday.
Santa Maria leaders were aware of the A.T. Still University search for a new facility with a specific list of requirements met by the San Luis Obispo property.
“In the end they still found a space that met their needs,” Wu said, adding the relocation doesn’t reflect a lack of effort by the city.
“It’s a loss but we know they’ll remain engaged,” Wu added.
The situation involving ATSU demonstrates the need for Santa Maria to move forward with the plans to annex land east of the city for future expansion, said Suzanne Singh, vice president of economic development and government affairs for the Santa Maria Valley Chamber Of Commerce.
“The bottom line is there’s nowhere for them to go,” Singh said.
“It would be great if we could get our annexation moving forward sooner so we can make sure we keep these companies and we can attract other companies,” Singh added.
The physician assistant program’s first year focuses on classrooms with lectures and labs followed by a year of clinical experience at medical centers and hospitals across the United States.
“The new campus will allow ATSU to expand health professions degree offerings and assist with solving local workforce, patient care, and health professions education needs,” said O.T. “Ted” Wendel, president of ATSU’s Arizona and California campuses.
The new facility reportedly would accommodate ATSU’s plans to expand by adding other programs on the Central Coast.
ATSU is a nonprofit university with a goal of educating community-oriented physician assistants who will provide whole person primary care to underserved communities along the Central Coast and across the nation.
The university began in 1892 as the nation’s first college of osteopathic medicine and has expanded to offer certificates and master’s degrees across health disciplines; and doctorates in athletic training, audiology, health administration, education, health sciences, medical science, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, dental medicine, and osteopathic medicine.