Closing the Gap: Chamberlain’s New Campus Targets Utah's Nursing Shortage
Utah is facing a critical healthcare deficit, operating with just seven nurses for every 1,000 residents—the lowest ratio in the nation, according to the Covista Care Capacity Monitor fielded by Gallup. To address this severe nursing shortage, Chamberlain University, a Covista institution, is opening its 26th campus in Salt Lake City.
Utah’s acute healthcare gap
The scale of the Utah medical staffing shortage becomes clear at the local level. In Salt Lake City DMA alone, there are more than 24,000 open healthcare jobs annually, translating to more than five open positions for every available job seeker.
Utah feels this gap deeply, but the workforce shortage is a national reality too:
- 76% of clinicians nationwide report that a lack of staff is already compromising their ability to deliver high-quality patient care
- 92% of healthcare executives report difficulty hiring physician specialists
- 86% struggle to fill primary care physician roles
- 84% report challenges hiring registered nurses
- 79% say the same for behavioral and mental health clinicians
The strain isn't limited to clinicians either. 84% of healthcare executives say staffing shortages have already reduced their organization's capacity to serve patients—and half say that reduction has been moderate or significant, forcing cuts to visits, reduced hours or bed closures.
Utah's numbers are a local expression of a national pattern, not an outlier.
Expanding where care is needed most
Covista's response is direct: bring nursing education to the communities that need it most. This new Chamberlain University campus—the 26th nationwide—extends a model already proven in states across the country to a market where the need is well documented.
Chamberlain isn't arriving in Utah untested. The university already serves close to 40,000 students across its national network, and Chamberlain's alumni community tops 155,000, with more than 200 already caring for patients in Utah.
“People with a passion and talent for nursing are in every community, and Utah is no exception," said Amelia Manning, President of Chamberlain University.
Trevor Scott, Executive Campus Director for the Salt Lake City location, expanded, "It's a great time to become a nurse in Utah." Scott's team is building the campus around that idea, aiming to graduate nurses who are practice-ready and rooted in the communities they'll serve rather than trained elsewhere and recruited in.
What Chamberlain’s Salt Lake City campus offers students
Students at Chamberlain's new Salt Lake City location can complete their BSN in three years. The school holds the Carnegie Foundation's 'Opportunity College and University' distinction, awarded to institutions that widen access to higher education and translate it into real economic mobility for graduates—and this campus was built with that same mission in mind*. Students will train in a high-tech SIMCARE CENTER™ before moving into direct patient care rotations with regional healthcare partners, entering the Utah workforce practice-ready.
Equipping healthcare graduates with AI certificates
Through a collaboration with Google Cloud, Chamberlain University is integrating AI certificates designed specifically for healthcare roles into its curriculum. The goal is to help students graduate with the exact tech-forward skills and AI certifications that 73% of healthcare executives say they are actively looking for when hiring new clinicians.
Advancing Covista's Purpose at Scale strategy
Chamberlain’s new Salt Lake City campus serves as a direct execution of Covista’s Purpose at Scale strategy. This strategy is focused on extending Covista's platform to expand access to healthcare education nationwide—systematically rolling out accelerated academic pathways, advanced technology and direct workforce pipelines with regional healthcare providers. Salt Lake City follows closely on the heels of Chamberlain's Cincinnati campus announcement in May, and is one of several new campuses opening as part of this larger strategy. Covista plans to open 10 to 15 new Chamberlain campuses by fiscal 2029, targeting markets with the highest nursing shortages and the strongest potential to build online enrollment alongside each new physical location.
Prospective students interested in Chamberlain's Salt Lake City campus can apply at chamberlain.edu/saltlakecity.
* Chamberlain University was recognized as a Carnegie Foundation “Opportunity College and University” in 2025, a designation for institutions that expand access and deliver strong economic outcomes for graduates. Chamberlain’s designation applies to campuses in AZ, FL, GA, IL, MO, OH, TX, VA, and IN.
