UK College of Health Sciences: The Gateway to the Health Sciences
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 17, 2015) — As the University of Kentucky’s celebration of its 150th anniversary winds down, the UK College of Health Sciences is ramping up for its 50th anniversary in 2016. With new leadership in place and strategic partnerships solidifying, the College of Health Sciences is poised to make the next 50 years even more impactful for the Commonwealth.
The UK College of Health Sciences, originally called the College of Allied Health Professions, was one of the first 13 colleges formed following the passage of The Allied Health Professions Personnel Training Act of 1966, with Joseph Hamburg serving as dean. The original schools, including those at The Ohio State University, the University of Florida and the University of Pennsylvania, paved the way for allied health professions in the U.S.
The legislation was passed in response to growing demand for high quality health care and brought recognition to the wide array of health care professions beyond medicine, dentistry and nursing.
The act reads in part: “There has been increasing awareness of the necessity to develop linkages among academic, training, and service institutions and the various related professional groups so that dynamic educational programs can be offered that will attract able students and prepare them for satisfying careers.”
Education
That statement still rings true for the UK College of Health Sciences, as it continues to innovate in the key areas of education, research and service. The college was one of the first at UK to offer a complete distance learning degree program. It began educating physical therapy students at the Center of Excellence in Rural Health in Hazard in 1992 and physician assistant students in Morehead in 1996. More recently, the Medical Laboratory Science Program was re-established to educate students at the Center of Excellence in Rural Health in Hazard.
The college prides itself on offering students a robust educational experience, which includes interprofessional, innovative learning opportunities, as well as the chance to go beyond the classroom with hands-on patient care, research, service and study-abroad opportunities.
The College of Health Sciences offers innovative programs, such as Human Health Sciences, which serve as the gateway to the health sciences professions, including medicine and dentistry. Its aim is to prepare career-ready professionals to enter health care fields that are in high demand.
Today, the college has more than 1,000 students enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs in Athletic Training, Clinical Leadership and Management, Clinical Nutrition (in collaboration with the College of Medicine), Communication Sciences and Disorders, Human Health Sciences, Medical Laboratory Science, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies and the Rehabilitation Sciences Doctoral Program.
Research
Researchers at the College of Health Sciences share a common vision – a dynamic, sustainable research enterprise that reaches into the community, improving the lives of Kentuckians and extending beyond its borders. Helping individuals attain the highest level of health possible is at the core of the college’s research. Areas of focus include the prevention of injury and disability due to exercise/sport participation, aging, chronic disease, or other adverse factors; rehabilitation after injury or illness; innovations in the treatment of voice, swallowing, and language disorders; and exercise; nutrition in the context of optimal health and performance enhancement; and military injury prevention and performance optimization.
Research is also a fundamental part of the educational experience at the college, as students have the opportunity to be involved in our ongoing research projects. The college also maintains a thriving undergraduate research program, which fosters the curiosity of undergraduate students by offering opportunities across a variety of topics for mentored, self-directed work. Additionally, the college is the first on campus to offer an undergraduate certificate in research, which is open to all majors.
Service
The college has more than 7,500 alumni serving health care needs across the Commonwealth and beyond. In addition to the care its alumni provide, the College of Health Sciences provides expert clinical care in physical therapy and communication disorders.
The Division of Physical Therapy offers a clinic for runners and a student-managed physical therapy clinic. The Runners Clinic offers injury evaluation and treatment, as well as 3-D gait analysis to help prevent injury. Samaritan's Touch is managed by physical therapy students and faculty and provides services for uninsured or under-insured adults. The college also offers clinical speech-language pathology services through its Communication Disorders Academic Clinic, and the UK HealthCare Voice and Swallow Clinic and Speech-Language Pathology Clinic.
Future
Moving forward, the college is working to develop a sustainable research enterprise, invest in strategic collaborations and support meaningful growth in its academic programs. The college is aligning its work with the trajectory of health care toward an emphasis on wellness and prevention.
“The common thread among our programs and our people is our mission,” Scott M. Lephart, dean of the College of Health Sciences, said. “We are driven by the desire to help people attain the highest level of health possible. Our work in education, research and service can be boiled down to one outcome: optimal health. The key is to help unlock the potential for optimal health in each individual we affect, indirectly or directly, through providing patient care, educating future health sciences professionals, and engaging in research aimed at the prevention of injury and disability.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Kathy Johnson, 859-257-3155 or kathy.johnsn@uky.edu