"Largest gift in the history" of University of Northern Colorado granted, $25 million to help rural Colorado's medical field
The University of Northern Colorado will soon be the home to the region's newest school for osteopathic medicine. Thanks to a $25 million grant from The Weld Trust, UNC plans to have its newest school open by 2026.
"This is the largest gift in the history of this university," said Andy Feinstein, President of UNC.
The donation was made by The Weld Trust, a nonprofit that was founded after Northern Colorado Medical Center was sold to Banner Health in 2019.
Now, money from the sale has been dedicated to prioritizing medicine and education in Weld County.
For years experts have been warning of a pending shortage of medical workers throughout the United States. If the problem is going to impact urban communities, it is expected to hit rural areas even harder.
"Weld County and Colorado are growing faster than the rest of the nation, and we have an aging workforce in terms of physicians. We have a problem a decade out, now, that we need to be solving," said Jeff Carlson, CEO of The Weld Trust.
UNC is already home to one of the most reputable nursing schools in the region. The hope is that the university can expand into osteopathic medicine, with more people choosing to study and then work in the rural areas of Weld County.
"Where you go to school, that is going to be your community for a while," said Charlie Johnston, a senior studying medicine at UNC. "This is where you are going to practice, this is where you are going to learn your skills."
Studies have shown that those who choose to study medicine in the region they live in are more likely to stay in that surrounding community for their careers, according to Carlson.
Weld County is more than 4,000 square miles in size, underscoring the need for medical professionals in more places than just Loveland, Fort Collins and Greeley.
"This program is going to have such a big impact," Feinstein said.
The hope is to have the first cohort of students on campus in 2026, with the new facility opened by 2027.
"Osteopathic medicine caters to rural health. So many osteopathic doctors go into family care and family medicine," Feinstein said.
Johnston said he wished he had this level of opportunity for his studies, but was happy to see the future generations of UNC medical students will be able to engage in it.
"Having that investment is not just an investment in the school, but an investment in the community. You are going to have more doctors coming out of this place, you will have more people aware of how medicine works in Weld County so they can go other places as well," Johnston said.
"It is going to have an incredible impact on healthcare for generations to come," Feinstein said.