Established in 1968 by Dr. Henry K. Silver, the Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant (CHA/PA) is a Master’s level, primary care PA program preparing graduates to provide comprehensive medical care for patients of all ages with specialized education in the care of infants, children and adolescents. The program graduated the first class in 1972 and was the first PA program to award Master’s degrees in 1973. The Program has maintained continuous ARC-PA accreditation since 1972 and continuous funding from the Health Resources Services Administration Bureau of Health Professions for more than 25 years. In 2002, the CHA/PA Program became the first degree granting program with expanded facilities on the 7 th floor of Historic Building 500 at the Anschutz Medical Campus.

Although the program continues an emphasis on pediatrics, the Program’s primary care curriculum prepares graduates to diagnose and treat illness in patients of all ages. Functioning within the university’s School of Medicine, the program has gained national recognition for its innovative curriculum. Problem-based learning, Evidence-based medicine and an extensive Psychosocial medicine curriculum are successful components of the curriculum. Clinical experience during the first year of training has been an integral part of the CHA/PA Program since its inception. The Program awards a professional masters degree (MPAS-Pediatrics) and a certificate of completion which permits graduates to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam. The standard of excellence is demonstrated by our national board pass rates of >99% for first-time takers.

CHA/PAs have functioned as colleagues of physicians and other allied health professionals, providing comprehensive health services, including not only the evaluation and treatment of medical disease, but also patient education and counseling, anticipatory guidance and management of behavioral, psychosocial and developmental disorders. Program graduates are employed in all areas of primary and s ubspecialty areas of practice including pediatrics, family medicine, orthopedics, surgery, emergency medicine, urgent care, otolaryngology, allergy and asthma, neurology, neonatology, child protection and advocacy, and many more.

Anschutz Medical Campus This is an exciting time at the University of Colorado at Denver Health Science Center! Once placed on the Base realignment and closure list, UCHSC, the University of Colorado Hospital, and the City of Aurora presented a visionary proposal to rebuild the Fitzsimons land into the Anschutz Medical Campus, “one square mile of life sciences.” Once completed, the world class medical campus will include the University of Colorado Hospital, the new Children’s Hospital, Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, and the adjacent Colorado Bioscience Park. With the new facilities, students at the University of Colorado complete their education at a state-of-the-art campus.

For more information on the development of the Anschutz Medical Campus, please visit http://www.uchsc.edu/fitzsimons/