What once used to be a physical therapy office is now a center for higher learning and collaboration.
Franklin College opened its new Graduate Health Science Center this fall. Part of a collaboration with Johnson Memorial Hospital, the new center is the home of the Master of Science in Athletic Training program and the upcoming Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program.
The center is in the basement below the Johnson Memorial Immediate Care Center at 2085 Acorn Boulevard, three miles from campus. The partnership started about five years ago, when the college approached the hospital with a plan to create a nursing program, which then eventually became a physician assistant program, said Larry Heydon, president and CEO of Johnson Memorial Health. When space became available in the basement of the health center last year, the college jumped on the opportunity.
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“This is an exciting moment and it’s proof that an institution can change and can be forward-thinking,” Franklin College President Thomas Minar said. “This milestone of our new graduate programs and this space would not be possible, though, without partnerships.”
Johnson Memorial is providing the facility and hands-on training for the students in the graduate programs. Franklin College also partnered with the Lily Endowment for funding and other support.
The growth of graduate program is part of the college’s expanding science program, which has been a focus for Minar.
“What are we going to do? We’re going to capitalize on academic strengths, we’re going to generate exciting new collaborations in the community and we’re going to build on, you’ve heard me say it before, #FCGroundbreakingScience,” Minar said.
The current facility was once a physical, occupational and speech therapy center. The directors of both graduate programs had control over the redesign of the 8,327-square-foot space to fit the needs of the graduate students.
“We were trying to envision how this would be an educational space and we were excited from the get-go,” said Jen Austin, director of the Master of Science in Athletic Training program.
“This space is yet another tangible manifestation of the college’s support of us.”
Austin and Thomas Meehan, the new director of the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program, said the programs will collaborate in different settings to solve real-world cases together.
“We can learn things about what athletic trainers do from them instead of just telling our students what athletic trainers do,” Meehan said.
The athletic training program was the first graduate program at Franklin College two years ago. The first class recently graduated in May. Twenty-three athletic training graduate students are currently enrolled, and the college is anticipating 20 to 25 physician assistant students.
“In the real world, PAs and ATs need to be able to work together anyway,” graduate student Rachel Bowden said. “So, being able to build those bonds now potentially with people we could be working with later on will be nice as well.”
Student Eric LeFave said he is interested in seeing how the physician assistant students will take on different problems.
“It can be kind of neat to see how they will approach a problem versus how we will approach a problem and getting to pick their brains,” he said
The athletic training students have been using the facility since classes began in July. Zach Prater said he enjoys having their own space.
“At Water Street, the undergrad program [exercise science majors] still used it a little bit, so it’s nice to have this space just as a graduate space,” Prater said.
The athletic training students work with the emergency, rehabilitation, orthopedic and family practice departments at Johnson Memorial Hospital as part of their training during their two years, Austin said.
The physician assistant students will spend their first year in the classroom and spend the second year working in the hospital with family practices, general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons and also in the emergency room, Heydon said.
“Luckily our hospital has always been one that’s given back to training needs,” Heydon said.
With the need for physician assistants increasing, the new facility and graduate programs is what Franklin College needed, Meehan said.
“With 79 percent of rural counties in Indiana not having a PA, this college and this area is right for this program,” he said.
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Franklin College is hosting an open house at the the new graduate center as part of homecoming weekend festivities.
Visitors can tour the facility and learn more about the program.
When: 10 a.m. to noon today
Where: Franklin College Graduate Health Science Center, 2085 Acorn Blvd.
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