The state legislature will consider a plan to help fund a new medical school at the University of Northern Colorado and three other programs statewide that train the health care workforce.
Rep. Mary Young, a Greeley Democrat, said she and others planned to introduce a bill Monday that would split $246 million among the four programs to help cover their construction costs and other infrastructure. She wasn’t sure how much each program would receive if the bill passed.
UNC started exploring the idea of creating an osteopathic medical school in 2021. The university, located in Greeley, reported it will .
It would be Colorado’s third medical school, joining the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus and Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine, a for-profit school located in Parker.
Doctors of osteopathic medicine — like doctors of medicine, or MDs — but they are more likely to choose primary care, because their education puts more emphasis on prevention and wellness. They also learn ways to manipulate the bones and muscles that aren’t in the curriculum at other medical schools.
Gov. Jared Polis, who spoke at the plan’s announcement Monday, estimated the new medical school could produce about 150 graduates per year.
The bill’s text was not immediately available Monday.
The bill also would give financial support to Metropolitan State University of Denver’s planned Health Institute Tower, Colorado State University’s Veterinary Health Education Complex and additions to Trinidad State College’s Valley Campus in Alamosa.
MSU Denver reported it expected to receive about $50 million, which would allow it to enroll about 25% more students in its health programs. The Trinidad State additions would allow it to increase enrollment by about 50%, and the CSU veterinary campus could take about 20% more students.
The supply of health care workers is shrinking because of burnout and older workers retiring, while the need for care is increasing as the population ages, Young said. The four programs lawmakers chose to support all have a history of producing graduates who go to high-need areas, she said.
“These programs are all designed to meet the needs of those underserved populations,” she said.
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