It’s a statistic University of Utah President Taylor Randall says unsettles him: Utah ranks dead last among states for the number of primary care doctors for its population.
The state has 60.2 physicians for every 100,000 residents — a figure falling behind Mississippi. And those numbers, Randall said, get even worse in Utah’s more remote, rural areas that he calls “medical deserts.”
It’s dire, the president added, as some areas have zero doctors within 100 miles.
Randall and other leaders in Utah’s education and medical worlds are pushing to change that.
On Wednesday, they announced their first steps toward opening a new medical school in St. George that will focus on training doctors who want to specialize in rural health.
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This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.
