Rowan University expands Sewell Campus with tech-enhanced addition and new PA Program

Rowan University, Virtua Health and partners celebrated the expansion of the Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine’s Sewell Campus Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking new space for medical education and the launch of the school’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program.

The 12,400-square-foot, two-story expansion provides additional resources for both PA and osteopathic medical (DO) students. The new facility allows for broader anatomy education, clinical skills training, simulation-based learning and immersive technology together in a single learning environment designed to help students develop practice-ready skills before entering clinical settings. Notably, the new space includes the first virtual reality lab at an osteopathic medical school in the nation.

“This is another remarkable building we can all be proud of,” said Tony Lowman, chancellor of Rowan University. “In the classrooms, simulation suites and laboratories throughout this addition, students from our brand-new PA Program will learn alongside our DO students to master the skills that will shape healthcare across South Jersey and the region for generations to come.”

Investing in the region’s healthcare workforce

President Ali Houshmand said the Sewell expansion reflects the University’s broader commitment to addressing the shortage of healthcare professionals in New Jersey and across the nation.

“Rowan University is a healthcare education powerhouse because of a bold vision and partners who share that vision,” Houshmand said. “The expansion provides more resources on the Sewell campus and increases our ability to fulfill our broader healthcare education mission.”

Rowan now trains healthcare providers at three medical schools and educates nurses and respiratory therapists through the Rita & Larry Salva School of Nursing & Health Professions, which is part of the Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences along with the Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine. This first class of physician assistants will graduate in 2028.

Houshmand credited Rowan’s partnerships with healthcare organizations, including Virtua Health, for helping the University expand its capacity to educate healthcare professionals and prepare them for clinical practice.

“Much of our most recent progress is due to the power of our partnership with Virtua Health, and the creation of the Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences” Houshmand said. “Having the largest health system in South Jersey as a partner means our faculty and students benefit from Virtua’s enormous clinical expertise and innovation.”

The expansion marks another milestone in the osteopathic school’s 50-year history, which includes welcoming its 50th class and its inaugural class of PA students.

“We’re not just opening a wing today, we’re opening possibilities,” Rowan-Virtua SOM Dean Richard Jermyn said. “May this space remind you that it’s not simply a profession, but a privilege to bring knowledge, compassion and hope to all that will put their trust in you.”

Preparing practice-ready physicians and physician assistants

The new facility was designed to provide hands-on training, simulation and technology-enhanced learning. Students will develop essential patient care skills, including physical examinations, suturing, splinting, intravenous access and airway management, through supervised practice and simulation.

The expansion includes an anatomy laboratory, a clinical and technical skills lab, and a simulation center with eight standardized patient rooms, high-fidelity simulators and task trainers. Technology-enhanced learning resources include an immersive augmented reality learning environment, as well as specialized patient simulators designed to support a range of clinical scenarios.

The simulation center includes CAE Apollo, an adult patient simulator; CAE Lucina, a maternal-fetal simulator; and another first for an osteopathic medical school: Gwen, a pediatric simulator representing a child with Down syndrome. These resources give students opportunities to practice clinical decision-making and patient care in a controlled environment while preparing for real-world clinical settings.

Dennis Pullin, president and CEO of Virtua Health, said the expansion represents an investment in the region’s healthcare workforce and future.

“When you think about every time we celebrate an event like this, it's a demonstration of our investment into this community. It's a demonstration of our investment in the future of healthcare. And the reality is not just here in our region, but across the U.S. We need more physicians. We need more physician assistants. We need more nurses. We need more allied health professionals to keep up with the growing complexity of healthcare,” Pullin said.

“Together with Virtua and the university, we knew that we could create something really special in this community. I think what we have formed is perhaps the most comprehensive healthcare education ecosystem in the country, particularly in this region, but more so in the country.” Pullin added.

Assemblyman Cody Miller, who represents New Jersey’s 4th Legislative District, said the expansion can help create pathways for students to build careers close to home.

“If we want them to stay here, we have to give them a reason to stay here, and we are doing that today with all of these partners,” Miller said.

Building the PA Program from the ground up

David DeFilippo, program director and associate professor for the Physician Assistant Program, said the inaugural class has a unique role in establishing the foundation for the program’s future.

“There will be many classes of students here after you, but nobody gets to be the first again,” DeFilippo said. “You are the first and you will help shape everything that comes after.”

Sima Hassan Abu Doush, president of the program’s Student Government Association, spoke on behalf of the inaugural class and reflected on the significance of the day’s events.

“We are the first students to learn within these walls, the first to help shape the program's culture and the first to begin the traditions that we hope future classes will carry forward for many years to come,” Abu Doush said.

Honoring a commitment to the PA Program

The expansion also included a special recognition for David A. Fry Jr., M’17, and his wife, with the unveiling of the David A. Fry Jr. PA-C and Family Faculty and Staff Office. The naming recognizes the Frys’ support of Rowan-Virtua SOM and its new PA Program.