During the Rome City Commissioners Meeting on September 22, 2025, Rome Mayor Craig McDaniel proclaimed October 6 –12, 2025, as National Physicians Associates (PA) Week in Rome, Georgia. PAs are licensed clinicians who practice medicine in every specialty to diagnose, treat illness and disease, and prescribe medication for patients in association with physicians.

Berry College welcomed its first cohort of PA students this year. The Berry PA program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) and grants students a Master of Medical Science degree upon completion. The program focuses on providing rural health medicine and clinical opportunities to students through partnerships with two hospitals in the area and the largest private medical clinic in Georgia.

The newly constructed Morgan-Bailey Hall is used by Berry’s health science programs, such as nursing, exercise science, and PA programs. The 36,000-square-foot building features simulation suites, labs, mock operating rooms and more.

To learn more about Berry’s PA program, please visit https://berry.edu/academics/graduate-studies/physician-associate/.