news-record.com

As UNCG continues its dogged pursuit of a pharmacy school, another high-demand health education program might also land in Greensboro.

Discussions about a new physician assistant program at Elon University are in the preliminary stages.

But Elon has a knack for making things happen.

Exhibit A: The downtown law school, which seemed to move from the drawing board to reality at light speed.

Last fall, the university began to explore the PA program, moving forward from a feasibility study to determining where and how to launch the 28-month master's degree program.

As is the case with UNCG's pharmacy school, there is an obvious demand. North Carolina's existing physician assistant programs are based at Duke, East Carolina, Methodist, Wake Forest and Wingate universities. Wingate's program, begun only two years ago, already is seeking to expand, having received 1,000 applications for 20 slots.

There also will be high-paying jobs awaiting the graduates, who can expect to make an annual salary of $65,000 right out of school. After that, pay can soar "up into six figures very easily," says Mike Borden, CEO of the N.C. Academy of Physician Assistants.

And, yes, Greensboro is a serious option for Elon. Again.

The first PA program was begun at Duke University in 1967 in an effort to find civilian employment for former Army medics. PAs are trained and licensed to do everything a doctor can do except sign a death certificate. However, they must work under the supervision of physicians.

PA programs involve classroom work, then practical experience in the field with local health care providers. Moses Cone Health System would seem a prime candidate for such a partnership. Cone CEO Tim Rice also is an enthusiastic supporter of the UNCG pharmacy school, which awaits approval from the University of North Carolina General Administration.

The possibilities are tantalizing. But not so fast.

Rice solidly supports the idea of the physicians assistant program at Elon and says he will lend his voice and considerable influence to help make it happen. "There's certainly a need for a program," Rice says. "From a societal standpoint we need more physician extenders because we're not producing enough physicians."

But Rice wonders if the Elon program as "a good fit" for Greensboro. "I don't see the same compelling reason that existed with the law school," he says.

Rice says the Elon program will be relatively small (36 students in the first class, targeted for 2012). And he believes the natural synergies that exist in downtown Greensboro for the law school wouldn't exist for the PA program.

In fact, the program might be a better fit on the Elon campus, he said, where the school already operates a strong physical therapy program.

That was not exactly what Jim Melvin, president of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation and a major player in securing the law school for Greensboro, expected to hear when he recently broached the PA program with Rice.

When asked how Melvin responded to his reservations, Rice says, "I think his quote was 'Hummph.' "

Melvin said he respects Rice's opinions. But that doesn't mean he's giving up on the PA program for Greensboro. "I want to know more about it," he says. "But I'm going to give it a college try."

Good choice of words.

Melvin says some conversations have been held with Elon officials about a Greensboro location, including two possible sites. But he would provide no further details.

As with the plan for a new downtown hotel, reasonable people can disagree about what makes the most sense for the city -- and for Elon.

There's no mistaking, however, the boost this program would provide for the Triad, one way or the other. Elon Provost Steven D. House says the PA program would be a significant and logical component of the university's science initiative. But the costs will be considerable. "We need to better address where to build a facility and where to get start-up funds," he says.

That's because, unlike the law school, the PA program must be housed and accredited before it admits its first students.

This is where Greensboro comes in. Foundations in the city stepped forward to help fund the law school start-up and to help broker a deal with the city to place it at the old public library site on Greene Street. "It's a positive to have a friend like Jim," House says of Melvin, without whom the law school likely wouldn't have happened.

The bottom line: An Elon PA program would benefit the Triad in various ways wherever it goes. As for whether that's Greensboro, it depends.

Elon is likely to follow the money.