First nurses graduate through UCHealth’s Ascend Career Program, addressing critical workforce needs
Aurora, Colo. (Sept. 29, 2025) – Three years after launching the Ascend Career Program to improve education access and address health care labor shortages, UCHealth’s first class of nurses has earned their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees from Regis University. These nurses will begin their new roles in UCHealth hospitals this October.
“This is a major milestone for these nurses, as well as UCHealth,” said Jo Ann DelMonte, vice president of professional development and practice at UCHealth. “By investing in our employees’ education, we’re building a stronger nursing workforce at a time when the demand for health care workers has never been greater.”
The health care industry continues to see a steady increase in new jobs, despite overall job growth slowing nationwide. Employment in health care is projected to have the largest and fastest growth among all other industries, adding millions of jobs nationwide in the coming decade. This rapid growth comes as many hospitals are already struggling to meet the demand for nurses and other clinical roles.
Colorado currently faces a shortage of roughly 10,000 nurses, and that gap is expected to persist in the coming years. Programs like Ascend are designed to address these shortages while also providing employees with opportunities for career advancement and economic mobility.
The Ascend Program, offered in partnership with Guild Education, reduces financial barriers to education by providing tuition assistance to UCHealth employees looking to advance their careers in health care. The first graduating class of nurses includes former patient care technicians, medical assistants and others who received their education while continuing to work at UCHealth.
“We know the cost of higher education can be a barrier to growth for our employees. This program supports social mobility, enabling diverse candidates to access sustainable jobs to support their families.” David Mafe, chief diversity officer at UCHealth said.
Based on current enrollment, UCHealth expects an additional 40 nurses to graduate from Regis each year. More nursing programs are being added to Ascend, and it is projected around 200 nurses will graduate by 2030.
Yesenia Salomon, who completed the Regis program while working as a phlebotomist at the UCHealth Longmont Clinic, will begin her new role as an acute care nurse at UCHealth Long’s Peak Hospital in October.
“The Ascend Program has been an important step in reaching my long-term goals of becoming either a nurse practitioner or certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA).” Salomon said. “I’m excited to begin my new role as an acute care nurse because of the opportunities it provides for hands-on work helping patients.”
The first class of graduating nurses represents only a small fraction of the employees who are benefiting from the program. Others are pursuing or have received degrees and certifications in behavioral health, social work, respiratory therapy, phlebotomy, radiology, counseling and more.
About UCHealth
UCHealth is a nationally recognized nonprofit health system that pushes the boundaries of medicine through advanced treatments and clinical trials, improving health through innovation and providing unmatched patient care in the Rocky Mountain West. Investing $1.3 billion in community benefits, including $570 million in uncompensated care each year, UCHealth is Colorado’s largest Medicaid provider and dedicated to the communities it serves. With the region’s only adult academic medical center, University of Colorado Hospital on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, UCHealth includes 35,000 employees, 14 acute-care hospitals and hundreds of physicians across Colorado, Wyoming and western Nebraska.