Students in the Physician Assistant program at South College are being recognized for their recent volunteer efforts with two nonprofits; Remote Area Medical and Mission of Hope.

The two agencies joined together in May for the third annual Health Expedition, a weekend of free medical, dental and optical care offered to anyone in need. Mission of Hope also handed out supplies and other necessities to families in attendance.

Seven students from the PA program at South College assisted the physicians and dentists in seeing nearly 700 patients over two days. The students also helped unload and load equipment and clean up the area.

Representatives from the groups recently presented the students with letters of praise and thanks at the main campus.

“Their service was indeed invaluable,” said Emmette Thompson, executive director for Mission of Hope. “We couldn’t have done this without them.”

Remote Area Medical is a Knoxville-based nonprofit that provides free medical, dental and other services to people in Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky.  Mission of Hope, also based in Knoxville, provides assistance, aid and resources to needy families in Tennessee and Kentucky.

“We had lots of great compliments from the professionals at the event about our students’ knowledge and compassion,” said Dr. Kimberly Hall, vice president of South College.

“These students are showing that they are ready to become a valuable part of the professional community.”

South College is a private institution accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. South College educates students for selected careers in high-demand fields and offers bachelor’s degrees in business administration, elementary education, legal studies, nursing, pharmaceutical science and health science, as well as associate degrees in various fields including accounting, business administration, medical assisting, network administration and security, paralegal studies, physical therapist assistant and radiography. For more information, visit http://www.southcollegetn.edu.