New medical school planned for University of Northern Colorado as state looks to expand health care workforce

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 open the school by fall 2026.

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 can work in any field — 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.