SAN MARCOS – A private university against the foothills of northeast San Marcos has completed a major expansion.
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, which specializes in health and rehabilitative sciences education, recently unveiled its new Center for Innovative Clinical Practice.
The 7,000-square-foot teaching laboratory accommodates a wide range of physical therapy and occupational therapy classes in a hands-on learning environment, according to a news release.
School officials said the new center is one of the first of its kind to have a dedicated simulation training center and equipment tailored to physical and occupational therapy.
“The Center … positions the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences as an innovator in rehabilitation education and a leader in clinical practice,” said Susan Saxton, senior vice president of innovation and emerging strategies for USAHS. “Looking forward, our students will transform the rehabilitative space, where they will be more than a clinician, but a clinical leader. We are proud to be blazing a new trail in using simulation in rehabilitative education.”
The new facility includes a 16-bed patient ward, a dedicated area for Occupational Therapy education, two patient assessment rooms which provide acute care and clinical scenarios, a complex simulation room, a 25-seat observation and debriefing room, and an activities-of-daily living lab with a kitchen, bedroom, dining, closet, bathroom and living area.
USAHS, which was founded in 1979, expanded to San Diego in 2007 before moving into the 76,000-square-foot, three-building corporate center in San Marcos near the corner of Twin Oaks Valley and Borden roads in 2009.
The school offers degrees in physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, education and health science, as well as continuing education programs.
