Colorado Mountain College awarded $1.86 million annually over 5 years to transform rural health care workforce education

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — Colorado Mountain College, in partnership with seven partner hospitals, have been awarded $1.86 million annually over the next five years through Colorado’s Rural Health Transformation Program to expand high-demand health care education and build a stronger pipeline of skilled professionals for rural hospitals and communities across western and southern Colorado.

The funding is part of nearly $170 million in grants directed by the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing to rural healthcare providers across Colorado. Funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, these investments will help protect access to care and support better health outcomes in Colorado's rural and frontier communities.

Valley View Hospital, Aspen Valley Health, Grand River Health, Vail Health, Salida Hospital District, St. Vincent Health and San Luis Valley Health are partnering with Colorado Mountain College to use the rural health award to expand its existing radiologic technology program and develop new pathways in advanced imaging, sterile processing and surgical technology. The Regional Rural Healthcare Workforce Transformation Initiative will connect education, clinical training and employment across Colorado’s Central Mountains, Western Slope and San Luis Valley.

The initiative addresses persistent shortages in occupations essential to diagnostic imaging, surgery and rural hospital operations. Partner hospitals reported 188 job postings and 126 hires across seven targeted occupations, along with approximately $4.09 million in annual traveler and contractor expenses related to workforce shortages. Average reported time to fill positions reached approximately 128 days for CT technologists, 221 days for MRI technologists and 72 days for surgical technologists.

The investment also advances Colorado Mountain College's commitment to expanding educational pathways that lead to family-sustaining careers in rural Colorado. The occupations supported through this initiative offer strong wages, high demand and opportunities for residents to build careers close to home while helping address critical healthcare workforce shortages. For many students, these programs can provide a pathway to long-term economic mobility while strengthening the communities and hospitals that depend on a skilled local workforce. Radiologic technologists and technicians earned a national median annual wage of $80,110 in 2025, while MRI technologists earned a median annual wage of $95,480.

“This award gives us an extraordinary opportunity to change the landscape of rural health care education,” said Kathryn Regjo, CMC vice president of academic affairs. “Students should be able to pursue education that leads to rewarding, sustainable careers without having to leave their communities to find that opportunity. By expanding high-demand programs and creating stackable pathways into advanced specialties, we can help students increase their earning potential while strengthening the health care workforce that serves rural Colorado. Our goal is not simply to produce more health care professionals. It is to educate professionals at a level of quality and excellence that ensures people in rural mountain communities have access to the skilled, compassionate care they need and deserve.”

Project Highlights

Through this award, Colorado Mountain College will:

• Expand radiologic technology education — Double the capacity of CMC’s Associate of Applied Science in radiologic technology and create a sustained annual cohort of approximately 12 graduates. This high-demand career attracted 140 applicants for CMC’s 12 inaugural spots this academic year.
• Create new allied health pathways — Develop programs in advanced imaging, sterile processing and surgical technology, providing entry points into health care careers and advancement opportunities for current health care professionals.
• Build a regional clinical education network — Coordinate clinical placements, preceptors, workforce planning and employment pathways with Valley View, Aspen Valley Health, Grand River Health, Vail Health, Salida Hospital District, St. Vincent Health and San Luis Valley Health.
• Explore expanded access in the San Luis Valley — Conduct a feasibility study of a hybrid radiologic technology program combining online and remote instruction, regional laboratory experiences and locally supervised clinical placements.

Over the five-year grant period, CMC projects that the initiative will prepare approximately 204 health care professionals and establish the capacity to prepare approximately 56 workers annually. CMC and its partners have set a goal of placing more than 75% of graduates with partner hospitals or other rural health care providers.

Colorado is directing $169,587,181 in rural health program grants to rural healthcare providers across the state. Through a highly competitive application process, 91 applicants and approximately 250 projects were selected to receive funding across 52 rural or frontier counties and three rural census tract counties.

A complete list of Colorado Rural Health Transformation Program awardees and additional information  is available on the its website.

About Colorado Mountain College

Colorado Mountain College provides affordable, high-quality education and hands-on training that prepares students for in-demand careers in rural mountain communities. Approximately 14,000 students attend CMC annually and the college is a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution. In 2021, the college was designated by state law as a Dual Mission institution, joining an estimated 400 institutions — most of them in rural parts of the country — that offer an intentional blend of liberal arts programs and hands-on career skills training as well as a mix of undergraduate programs and specialized certificates.

About the Rural Health Transformation Program

The Rural Health Transformation Program is a five-year federal initiative administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services designed to strengthen healthcare access and improve health outcomes in rural and frontier communities. The program supports investments in workforce development, innovative care models, technology-enabled services, and health system sustainability. The program was authorized under Section 71401 of H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21) to provide grants totaling $50 billion in federal funding nationwide from Federal Fiscal Year 2026 through  2030.

From the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Colorado’s award totals $200,105,604.17 for the first year of the program to support rural health transformation efforts across the state and is 100% funded by CMS. The contents of this release are those of Colorado Mountain College and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CMS/HHS or the U.S. Government.