Chamberlain University student Manpreet Kaur demonstrates the new Simcare Center, where students will practice clinical skills in simulated patient care settings, at Chamberlain University’s new campus in Sandy. (Courtesy Chamberlain University)
Chamberlain University has officially opened its first Utah campus in Sandy in an effort to meet the growing need for nurses.
The ribbon-cutting occurred at the university’s 26th nationwide campus, which welcomed its first cohort of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students on Oct. 26. The Sandy campus development was announced in July.
Chamberlain University said Utah has just seven nurses for every 1,000 residents, the lowest ratio in the country. The Salt Lake City area posted more than 24,000 healthcare job openings last year, a number that rose nearly 20 percent year over year, outpacing most comparable metro areas, according to the 2026 Covista Care Capacity Monitor.
The new Covista Healthcare Workforce Index, based on a model by Oliver Wyman, estimates that closing the nation’s nursing shortage alone could save more than 9,000 lives a year. State leaders in Utah have already made increasing nursing education capacity a priority. The new campus adds seats to that effort and gives local residents a new way to train for nursing careers close to home.
“Opening a campus in Utah means more people here can become the nurses this state is counting on,” said Amelia Manning, president of Chamberlain University. “For many of our students, the hardest part of becoming a nurse is finding a program that meets them where they are in their lives. When we make that path more accessible, we open the door to a career with real opportunity and strengthen Utah’s nursing pipeline for years to come. We’re proud to do that work alongside the hospitals, health systems and schools that have been caring for this community for generations.”
Built to educate up to 400 students at full capacity, the campus is designed to expand alongside Utah’s need for nurses, including the thousands of new healthcare jobs expected as major hospital projects come online across the Salt Lake City area.
The campus was built for students balancing work and family, with evening and weekend classes, a three-year path to a BSN and no application fee or prerequisite courses. Students will practice in a high-tech Simcare Center before moving into clinical rotations at Utah healthcare sites, and through Chamberlain’s collaboration with Google Cloud, they can add healthcare-specific AI credentials to their degree.
“Most of the students starting with us this month already live and work here,” said Trevor Scott, executive campus director at Chamberlain Salt Lake City. “They know these neighborhoods and the people in them, and three years from now, they’ll be the nurses caring for those same neighbors.
“With fewer nurses per resident than any other state, Utah can’t afford to lose them. This campus makes it easier for Utahns to earn their degree, complete their clinicals and start their careers right here, where they’re needed most.”
Sandy City Mayor Monica Zoltanski said the city is proud that Chamberlain selected Sandy as the location for its 26th campus. “Chamberlain University strengthens Sandy’s role as a center for education, healthcare and economic opportunity in the south Salt Lake Valley,” Zoltanski said.
“Utah has the fewest nurses per capita of any state, yet a 2024 state audit found that qualified applicants were being turned away from public nursing programs,” said Utah Rep. Katy Hall, a practicing nurse in addition to representing District 11 in the Utah House of Representatives. “We cannot afford to leave qualified people on the sidelines when our communities need more nurses.
“We need an all-of-the-above approach. That means looking at every reasonable opportunity to expand nursing education and increase the number of qualified nurses entering the workforce. Public programs have an important role, and so does private investment. When a private institution is willing to invest in Utah and create more opportunities for nursing students, I see that as a positive step toward addressing our workforce shortage.”
“One of the most significant challenges facing Utah employers today is workforce availability, and nowhere is that challenge more apparent than in healthcare,” said Mary Catherine Perry, executive vice president of public policy and government affairs at the Salt Lake Chamber. “Chamberlain University’s new campus will help strengthen Utah’s nursing workforce pipeline, creating more opportunities for students and helping meet the growing needs of our healthcare providers and families. We applaud Chamberlain University for investing in Utah and preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals.”
Chamberlain is an institution of Covista, the nation’s largest healthcare educator, serving 100,000 students and supported by a community of 400,000 alumni across five accredited institutions. At the ribbon-cutting event, Covista and the Covista Foundation also announced they are making a two-year, $100,000 commitment to Intermountain Health, a not-for-profit health system headquartered in Utah, to support its apprenticeship and tuition-covered training programs. Through these programs, caregivers train on the job for in-demand roles, such as surgical technologists and medical assistants, while earning a paycheck. These innovative programs open a path into healthcare for people who can’t afford to step away from work to go back to school.
Also to mark the opening, Chamberlain teamed up with Zachery Dereniowski, known as “MD Motivator” to more than 40 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, to surprise Lauren Garner, an Eagle Mountain resident, with the Future Healthcare Hero BSN Award. The award covers the full cost of Garner’s nursing degree at the new campus.
