The new Dallas-Fort Worth campus for the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) has opened its doors, located in the Riverside Commons complex in Irving. Riverside Commons is situated on a 13-acre campus at the southwest corner of Highway 114 and Riverside Drive, adjacent to the Lake Carolyn recreation area. Founded in 1979, USAHS is a private, accredited, graduate–level university that is committed solely to health and rehabilitative sciences through innovative classroom and clinical education. USAHS has been serving the Austin area since 2012, along with three other campuses in St. Augustine and Miami in Florida, and San Marcos in Southern California.
At the new Dallas campus, USAHS occupies nearly 30,000 square-feet of classroom, laboratory, and administrative space in Riverside Commons. The university is launching the new campus by offering the Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program, and the first student cohort will start classes on May 13.
“As a USAHS graduate myself, and now faculty member, I am thrilled to be part of the team launching our new campus in Dallas,” said Dr. Stephanie Capshaw, Dallas OTD Program Director. “We have assembled a fantastic team of faculty and support staff who are passionate about health sciences education. Our goal is to ensure that USAHS students will be successful graduates who are leaders in their fields and make a positive impact in the community by strengthening health care.”
“Texas is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation; combined with an aging population, the demand for healthcare services in Texas and the greater DFW area will be remarkable,” said Dr. Thomas Werner, DPT Dallas Program Director. “I am delighted to be a part of the core academic team creating this new and vibrant health sciences community in Irving. The surrounding business community has been very welcoming and DFW-area alumni are excited about the university’s expanded presence in the area.”
“The university’s success blends our modern, interdisciplinary health sciences education with a focus on unparalleled patient care and service to the community,” said Dr. Divina Grossman, USAHS President and Chief Academic Officer. “A big part of our mission is to positively impact the communities we serve, and the university has demonstrated that in a variety of ways, including numerous community clinics and other service projects in Austin aimed at helping those with disabilities, mobility challenges due to disease, and senior citizens. We expect similar activities in the Dallas area as we get established in the community.”
Pending accreditation and regulatory approvals,the next program to launch in Dallas will be a Master of Science in Speech and Language Pathology (MSSLP), followed by the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, which will require the campus to expand to more than 50,000 square-feet by 2022. USAHS also offers several online health science graduate programs including Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Master of Health Administration (MHA), Master of Health Science (MHS), and Doctor of Education (EdD).
“As an institution, we are focused on expanding in areas where the demand for advanced health care practitioners is the greatest, especially as the Baby Boomer generation ages, leading to the need for more care,” Dr. Grossman said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2016 to 2026, there will be a 28 percent increase in demand for physical therapists, a 24 percent increase for occupational therapists and a 31 percent increase for nurse practitioners.