Courtesy Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions

For nearly a decade, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions has operated clinics where its students provided free and low-cost medical care to those in need under the supervision of certified health professionals.

With the help of a grant from Utah County, RMU now has more clinic space available and is encouraging the general public to come and utilize its clinic services.

“Our main purpose is to give our students experience seeing patients and being prepared to go out into the real world,” said Farley Sowards, senior director for Rocky Mountain University Health Clinics.

Founded in 1998, RMU offers graduate-level health care education in a variety of disciplines. Classes are taught both in-person and online. In 2023, the university opened its new headquarters in the former Novell tower located on the Timpanogos Tech Campus in the East Bay area of Provo.

RMU has renovated areas of Building 3 on that campus to house six of its seven clinics: the Eye Institute, the Center for Communications Disorders, the Counseling Clinic, the Occupational Therapy Clinic, the Physical Therapy Clinic and the Electrophysiology Clinic.

Courtesy Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions

The seventh RMU clinic, the Community Rehabilitation Clinic, continues to operate at 587 S. State St. in Provo.

Dr. Richard Nielsen, co-founder and former president of RMU, opened the university’s first clinic, the Community Rehabilitation Clinic, in 2015 with a desire to provide pro bono care for those who couldn’t afford to pay for it. Since then, the clinic has treated thousands of patients free of charge.

“It’s always been my dream to be able to provide medical care within the confines of what our specialty programs will allow to the underserved population in Utah County,” Nielsen said.

These clinics provide a place where students can take the principles learned in class and apply them while interacting with actual patients. RMU has agreements with several Utah public universities that allow students from those schools to work in the clinics alongside RMU students.

“We, in a sense, serve as really an internship site for them,” said Brandon Wilde, director of the RMU Counseling Clinic. “This replicates what they would experience in a community-based agency anywhere outside of the university.”

While experiencing the practical side of health care in the clinics, students also are learning the “art of delivery,” or what some would call “bedside manner,” through providing pro bono care, Nielsen said.

“Most of health care is really founded on giving from the heart and driven by a desire in your mind and your heart … to be able to render care to those patients. And if you just go about it mechanically, you lose contact with those patients, whether they can pay or not,” Nielsen said. “I guarantee it’s going to change the way they practice in their careers going forward.”

As the students learn, members of the community are provided with essential health care. Jose Rodriguez of Orem, a patient at the RMU Eye Institute, had shingles on his head that moved down into his eye. He was unable to afford a visit to an ophthalmologist and was referred to the RMU clinic.

“I’m really grateful for their services,” Rodriguez said through an interpreter. “They have treated me excellently.”

Angie Zabriskie, a Provo resident, regularly brings her 7-year-old son, Strider, to the RMU Center for Communication Disorders for treatment. Strider has cerebral palsy and is nonverbal.

“The interaction he gets with everyone, the students and all the faculty, has been amazing for him,” Zabriskie said. “They play games with him, ask him what he wants to do, do activities, work on language building, but also just empower him as an individual when he’s trying to communicate in different ways.”

Kaitlyn O’Brien, a student in RMU’s medical speech-language pathology master’s degree program, said it’s been great to work with clients and learn from them. “This is real-life experience, so it will be similar to this when we go out into the real world,” she said while working with Strider.

Zabriskie said as RMU students receive feedback from their instructors, she learns along with them. “I’ve really loved it because as they’re learning from their instructor, I get to hear things as a mom that maybe I wouldn’t hear otherwise,” she said.

Grants and donations have funded the pro bono treatment at the clinics. In recent years, RMU received $3 million from Utah County that the university has used to renovate Building 3 and operate its clinics. The funds came to the county through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

With the new clinic space, RMU now has more patient capacity, and all members of the public are invited to take advantage of the clinics’ services. The university currently is establishing a process for accepting medical insurance plans, which should be in place by July 1. The Eye Institute already can accept insurance.

Pro bono services will continue, with financial assistance provided based on a sliding scale factoring in family size and income level. Those interested can find information about RMU clinics at many Utah County service agencies, or by calling the clinics at 801-734-6774 or visiting healthclinics.rm.edu.

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