U of U opens St. George campus to address rural doctor shortage

SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah opened a new campus in St. George focused on training doctors who want to serve in rural communities.

Utah has the least amount of doctors in the state per capita and the problem is even worse in rural areas. The Southern Utah Regional Medical Campus focuses on training doctors who want to serve rural areas.

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Senior Associate Dean Michelle Hofmann said she is excited to be part of the process.

“To see a mission change that actually is resulting in us focusing on producing the kinds of physicians we most desperately need and this campus is a part of that,” Hofmann said. “It’s just really energizing to be a part of something that’s very solution-oriented.”

Filling the rural doctor shortage

Hofmann said students will spend their first year of school in Salt Lake and then spend the remainder doing clinical studies at the campus in St. George.

The campus will use facilities owned by Utah Tech University and partner with Intermountain Health to train the future rural doctors. According to Hofmann, 21% of the state’s population lives in a rural area, but only 11% of doctors are there to serve them.

The southern campus will share the same core curriculum as the main campus, but this gives them the opportunity to be a bigger help in rural communities.

“We all need primary care,” Hofmann said. “Primary care keeps us healthy and happy and out of hospitals, and we really need to broaden our access in our state so that folks get the kind of care that they need, that preventive care.”

Southern Utah Regional Medical Campus is currently accepting applicants. Hofmann said it will accept 10 students to the program.