Ahead of the crisis
Pitt-Bradford has spent decades building the rural health care workforce
Long before rural health care became a national crisis, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford was already working on it.
When many nurses at Bradford hospital neared retirement age in the 1970s, hospital administrator Fred Powell didn't wait for the problem to arrive — he went to Pitt-Bradford's then-president, Dr. Richard McDowell, and asked him to build a program to educate new nurses. With grants from the Stackpole-Hall Foundation and the Appalachian Regional Commission, and guidance from Pitt-Oakland's school of nursing dean Dr. Enid Goldberg, the associate of science in nursing program launched in 1979. It set a template Pitt-Bradford has followed ever since: find a gap, build a partnership, fill the need.
Decades of adding programs
That model has yielded a string of programs over the decades. In 1994, the university added a registered nurse-to-BSN pathway, raising the educational floor for area nurses. In 2001, nursing faculty partnered with Bradford Regional Medical Center's School of Radiography to create a bachelor's degree in radiological science, blending coursework at both institutions. The following year, Pitt's School of Social Work began offering an in-person master's degree on the Bradford campus — designed for working professionals attending evening classes in a cohort over 3½ years — to address a shortage of trained social workers across the region.
Training the next generation of emergency workers
One of the newest additions to that lineage is a bachelor's degree program in emergency medicine, built on the same two-institution model. Students complete two years of prerequisite courses at Pitt-Bradford, including an EMT course and certification exam, before entering the School of Health and Rehabilitative Sciences program taught on the Bradford campus. Junior year focuses on paramedic certification and field experience alongside working emergency professionals; senior year moves into critical care medicine and graduation requirements. The junior and senior years of training begin in fall 2027.
"This degree will offer students hands-on experience in the classroom and real-world settings as an EMT and paramedic to better prepare them for graduate school or provide them with a certification to begin working even before graduation," said Doug Graham, instructor of emergency medical services and health sciences at Pitt-Bradford.
The program's timing is not lost on local leaders, particularly with Bradford Regional Medical Center's emergency department slated for closure.
"We need additional EMS personnel in nearly every community; getting more personnel trained is a top priority," said Martin Causer, a state representative, Pitt-Bradford alumnus and volunteer EMT. "The Pitt-Bradford emergency medicine program can make a real difference toward meeting that goal and, ultimately, saving lives."
Meeting nurses where they are
For nurses already in the field, Pitt-Bradford this year launched an asynchronous online version of its RN-to-BSN program, letting working registered nurses earn a bachelor's degree on their own schedule.
"This unique two-term program delivers a student experience that makes it easier for working nurses to earn their BSN and transform their careers," said Dr. Jean Truman, director of nursing at Pitt-Bradford and Pitt-Titusville.
Tackling current and future needs
Beginning this summer, a new venture with Pitt's School of Dental Medicine will increase dental care in McKean County, expose new dentists to rural practice and train dental hygienists and assistants.
The School of Dental Medicine and Universal Primary Care will open a dental center in Bradford's Old City Hall. The Pitt school has agreed to provide three newly graduated dentists each year to complete a one-year rotation. Additionally, it will provide training for five dental hygienists and 12 dental assistants each year.
Like the Bachelor of Science in Emergency Medicine and Radiological Science programs, dental hygiene students will complete their first two years of general education and prerequisite courses at Pitt-Bradford, then apply to the dental school to train at the Bradford dental center site.
Looking ahead
Pitt-Bradford president Richard Esch plans to keep looking ahead. Currently, the university is looking for the inaugural director of a Center for Rural Engagement that will tackle not only issues of rural health, but also researching issues unique to rural areas, fostering entrepreneurship and enhancing workforce development.