Friday, April 4, 2025
4/4/2025
Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending - Construction - Address: 1500 University Drive, Auburn Hills, MI Project Director: Britt Rios-Ellis (contact PD/PI) Phone: (248) 370-2190 Email: riosellis@oakland.edu Lindsay Gietzen (co-PD/PI) Phone: (248) 364-8652 Email: lgitezen@oakland.edu Grant funding: $1.6 million Oakland University (OU) requests funding to purchase equipment, fixtures, furnishings, and software, to equip OU's new master of science physician assistant (MSPA) program at 1500 University Drive, Auburn Hills, MI. This program will focus on meeting healthcare needs of medically underserved individuals in Oakland County by supporting training of PAs as allied healthcare providers, mitigating Oakland County’s physician shortage and improving urban, rural, and local community health. We are not requesting HRSA funds for renovations to the project site: the OU Board of Trustees has approved a budget to cover the cost of renovations that will support the MSPA program and other OU educational activities in the facility. We expect to educate 100 students per year through the MSPA program, which will take in its first cohort of students in fall 2023. OU is uniquely positioned to meet this health care workforce challenge, as OU already has fully accredited programs in public health, nursing, and medicine. OU’s School of Health Sciences is developing the MSPA program with an interprofessional focus, inclusive of natural and behavioral sciences expertise, and benefitting from OU’s established strengths in clinical programming (nursing, medicine, physical therapy, medical laboratory science) and community engagement (public health, social work, nutrition). Medically underserved individuals have significantly worse medical outcomes than the average Oakland County resident. 33% of county residents have reported delaying medical procedures, there is a 21-year life-expectancy difference among residents living only 12 miles apart, and African-Americans die from preventable heart disease at 1.3 times the county average. Our state-of-the-art Clinical Education Facility will provide the academic and research essentials for clinical skills teaching, supplemental virtual anatomy instruction, a clinical teams simulation environment, and study spaces organized to provide an excellent comprehensive learning environment for PA students. This facility can also be used to expand clinic space during situations where patient volume is higher than normal (e.g., the COVID pandemic, or other emergency situations).
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).