$990,000 grant awarded to UNE Physician Assistant Program covered by media

The Portland Press Herald and Mainebiz on Sept. 30, 2010 reported that the University of New England's Physician Assistant Program has been awarded a $990,000 federal grant to expand the program. The two-year training program, based at UNE's Westbrook College of Health Professions, is the only one of its kind in Maine. The grant is part of the new Affordable Care Act and part of an effort to train more primary care providers to meet increasing demand due to health care reforms and aging populations. Physician assistants, who are trained to diagnose and treat patients, work under the supervision of physicians and are playing a greater role in medical practices because of a shortage of primary care doctors.