The exterior of the new USAHS Campus in Dallas, Texas.
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) continues to evolve to respond to the needs of today’s health sciences graduate students – through cutting-edge technology, a dynamic blended learning model, expert faculty-practitioners and pioneering learning spaces.
With five campuses across Florida, California and Texas, USAHS boasts modern on-campus resources that promote clinical excellence through graduate education. The Dallas Morning News (access limited content) reports that the school has trained more than 14,000 healthcare professionals over the last 40 years.
In January 2023, USAHS moved its Dallas location to a larger facility with 55,050 square feet of classroom, laboratory and administrative space in the VariSpace® building in Irving’s Las Colinas community. The high-tech campus features state-of-the-art tools to build clinical competence – from anatomage tables and a driving simulator, to assistive technology and an immersive clinical simulation lab.
Clinical simulation lab at USAHS’ new Dallas Campus
“The role of simulation in our curricula is to give students direct, hands-on practice that simulates any type of clinical experience prior to practicing in our community,” Dr. Ashley Bourque Meaux, CCC-SLP, assistant program director and associate professor, USAHS Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS-SLP) program, told the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Hospital Council Interlocutor.
USAHS opened its first Dallas facility in Riverside Commons in Irving-Las Colinas in 2019. The recent move is a part of USAHS’ plans to prepare future healthcare practitioners and grow its footprint by about 50 percent, according to The Real Deal. A second phase of the project will add another 20,979 square feet to the campus by August 2024, Dallas Innovates reports.
USAHS offers three in-person programs at its Dallas campus – Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) or Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS-SLP). These rehabilitative sciences paths prepare students for advanced roles in patient-centered care.
“We will provide a strong pipeline of talented workforce for the biggest hospitals and health care facilities in Dallas-Fort Worth for a long time,” Vivian A. Sanchez, USAHS chancellor and CEO, told the Dallas Morning News, “The health care professionals who graduate from USAHS’s innovative programs are ready to serve the health care industry needs of today and into the future.”
Anatomage devices on USAHS’ new Dallas Campus
Dr. Meaux shared with Dallas Innovates that with “numerous community clinics and service projects” aimed at helping people with disabilities, mobility challenges due to disease and senior citizens, USAHS is positively impacting the communities it serves.
According to a 2021 Mercer study, there is an expected shortage of up to 3.2 million essential healthcare professionals by 2026. “The opening of this new building is a step in the right direction to get healthcare professionals in our community,” Steve Love, president and CEO of the DFW Hospital Council, shared with Rambler Newspapers.
Dr. Meaux told Dallas Innovates that USAHS’ established campus in North Texas is pivotal in addressing the healthcare shortage. “And this is where I get really excited because the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences’ new Dallas-Fort Worth campus is going to play a vital role in bringing new opportunities to students and enhancing access to qualified practitioners for the North Texas region,” Meaux said.
USAHS boasts modern learning spaces and prepares its graduates to become effective problem-solvers and healthcare leaders – in Texas and beyond.
Ready to join USAHS’ dynamic, collaborative community? Learn more about our Dallas campus and USAHS’ immersive OTD, DPT and MS-SLP programs, and apply today.
