Chamberlain University opens its first Utah campus Monday, Oct. 26, in Sandy, adding nursing seats in a state that ranks last in nurses per capita for the second consecutive year.

The campus at 9490 S. 300 West sits about four miles from Draper, near Salt Lake Community College's Miller campus. It is Chamberlain's 26th location nationwide and offers a three-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program with evening and weekend scheduling. The Salt Lake Tribune reported the program costs approximately $100,000 at full price, compared with about $44,000 for a four-year degree at the University of Utah. Students will complete clinical rotations with local partners including DaVita and Odyssey House of Utah.

Utah has just seven nurses per 1,000 residents, according to the Covista Care Capacity Monitor fielded by Gallup. The Salt Lake City metro area posts more than 24,000 open healthcare jobs each year, with more than five openings for every available job seeker, according to the same report. Separately, Galen College of Nursing announced it would add a bachelor's degree in nursing at its Draper campus, where it had previously offered only an associate degree, the Tribune reported.

Two Chamberlain graduates already working in Utah show what that shortage looks like on the ground and why expanding nursing education matters.

Crystal Albrecht has seen the staffing crisis firsthand. Crystal, a graduate of Chamberlain, advocated for Utah HB 14, legislation allowing specially trained paramedics to earn certification as "critical care medics" who can perform procedures typically reserved for nurses and some physicians. "I became aware of the nursing shortage that's projected over the next 5 to 10 years as the American population ages and I started being worried about how I was going to staff the emergency department," Albrecht told KSL at the time.
Crystal Albrecht earned her BSN from Chamberlain while already working in hospital leadership. She now serves as director of operations for CommonSpirit Health Mountain Region, overseeing a system that includes Holy Cross hospitals along the Wasatch Front. She took that role in January 2025 after managing emergency clinical nursing and hospital security at Holy Cross Hospital - Jordan Valley. CommonSpirit uses staffing firms to bridge the nursing gap.

Laura Dotson earned her master's degree in nursing education from Chamberlain and has directed Utah State University's statewide practical and associate degree nursing programs since May 2019. She oversees nurse training at six sites across the state: Price, Moab, Blanding, Uintah Basin, Tooele and Cedar City.

Dotson's nursing career began in 1993 at what is now USU Eastern, where she earned her practical nursing certificate and later her associate degree. She spent 18 years in direct patient care before joining the USU Eastern faculty in 2012. USU Eastern-Price named her Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year in December 2017.

Both women built careers that address the same workforce gap the Sandy campus is designed to narrow. Chamberlain reports more than 200 alumni already working in nursing jobs across Utah. Classes at the Sandy campus start three times a year, and applications are open at chamberlain.edu/saltlakecity.