University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) is a private graduate institution devoted to health sciences education. Founded in 1979 as the Institute of Physical Therapy, it is headquartered in San Marcos, California. It has campuses in San Marcos and in St. Augustine, Florida; Miami, Florida; Austin, Texas; and Dallas, Texas. The school is owned by the private equity firm Altas Partners. History. The school that ultimately became the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1979 by Stanley V. Paris, PT, Ph.D., as the  Institute of Physical Therapy. Dr. Paris retired from USAHS in 2007. In 1997, the school officially became “The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.” It purchased a small private hospital and an adjoining 26 acres of land at the Flagler Health Park Campus in St. Augustine, thus creating its current St. Augustine campus. In 2007, USAHS expanded to California, opening a campus in San Diego. The university also completed work on a 98,000-square-foot academic and clinic building at the St. Augustine campus. In 2009, the San Diego campus moved to San Marcos, California. In 2012, the University  opened a third campus in Austin, Texas. In 2013, Laureate International Universities acquired a majority interest in USAHS. In 2015, USAHS opened its fourth campus in Miami, Florida. In 2019, Altas Partners, a Canadian long-term private equity firm, purchased USAHS from Laureate. In 2019, USAHS opened its fifth location in Dallas, Texas. Programs. USAHS offers the following degree programs of study: College of Rehabilitative Sciences Other Health Sciences USAHS is accredited by the Western Association of Schools & Colleges. In 2017, USAHS opened its first Center for Innovative Clinical Practice on the San Marcos campus. Notable projects. In 2019, USAHS  faculty members Dr. Scott Love (an above-the-knee amputee) and Dr. Rick Coleman (a prosthetist) unveiled a device they invented that helps amputees learn to run outside. Kelly Twichel and Eric Packard, two USAHS Master of Occupational Therapy program students, designed a device for adaptive surfers who have spinal cord injuries. They constructed a collapsible track that can be laid underneath a wheelchair to allow it to cross sand smoothly. Twichel and Packard launched Access Trax, and their product, Beach Trax, became available to the public. Notable faculty. USAHS founder Stanley V. Paris was the first president of the  Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Faculty member Todd Bourgeois is a three-time national qualifying contestant on the NBC show American Ninja Warrior. Nicknamed the “Cajun Cowboy,” Bourgeois has been competing on the show since 2013.