If the two students and two doctors who started the medical department at the University of Colorado in 1883 could see the place now, they might look back on 142 years of history with a sense of wonder.

All of these years later, the University of Colorado School of Medicine has become an enduring force for good. The CU Anschutz Medical Campus, which is home to the School of Medicine, UCHealth’s University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado, is a pipeline for new doctors and medical professionals, a research powerhouse and an economic engine that drives $19.3 billion in economic impact and provides thousands of jobs.

In the last decade, medical discoveries made by researchers have spawned 44 new companies, 1,220 inventions and 1,883 patents.

Though close partners, UCHealth and Children’s Hospital Colorado are legally separate organizations from the University of Colorado and its School of Medicine. Last year, as a key supporter of the school, UCHealth provided $365 million to the University of Colorado School of Medicine, about 10 times more than the State of Colorado provided to the public school, a contribution that benefits Coloradans now and for generations to come. The vital funding helps mold future doctors and improves the lives and health of all Coloradans. The medical school support is part of $1.3 billion provided by UCHealth to benefit communities across Colorado.

“The exceptional work by the CU School of Medicine benefits Coloradans in multiple ways by educating future doctors and medical providers and relentlessly pursuing discovery of new treatments, devices and medicines,’’ said Elizabeth B. Concordia, president and CEO of UCHealth. “UCHealth is committed to this contribution because it benefits Coloradans now and for generations to come.’’

Last year, 42% of doctors who graduated from the school stayed in Colorado to practice medicine; another 55% serve communities across the United States.

“The benefit of having well-trained providers who truly care for people across the state has an enduring contribution for generations to come,’’ said Dr. Jean Kutner, chief medical officer for UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, chief academic officer for UCHealth, and professor of medicine and associate dean for clinical affairs at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

In Colorado, those students learn from doctors in Denver, Aurora, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Woodland Park, Pueblo and Canon City, with the idea that if they train in those communities, they’ll establish practices there. The school also offers a rural track for students interested in practicing in rural Colorado communities.

As the only academic medical center for miles around, the school serves as an energetic hub for discovering new treatments for illness, including a number of “firsts’’ – the first human open-heart surgery, the first liver transplant and the first to develop an ultrasonic scanner.

“Aside from education, an academic medical center spurs innovation and industry. There are medical discoveries that are translated into new treatments that then become broadly available to help people,’’ Kutner said.

For example, the CU School of Medicine recently received $2 million from the Celine Dion Foundation to advance discovery in autoimmune neurologic diseases such as Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare disease Dion has been treated for by Dr. Amanda Piquet, associate professor of neurology and the inaugural endowed chair.

Already, there has been new understanding about Stiff Person Syndrome. What was once thought to be a disease that affected one to two of every one million people, has been shown in an epidemiology study at UCHealth to affect one to two of every 100,000 people. And the university is leading a CAR-T cell study targeting specific cells in the immune system that are thought to be a driver or a significant part of the disease.

In addition, researchers at the university and UCHealth have been at the forefront of significant breakthroughs in cancer research, and have led the way in the development of medical devices and technologies to improve patient care.

UCHealth’s CARE Innovation Center collaborates with and invests in companies creating digital technologies to enhance health care decision-making and delivery. Discoveries include:

• BioSticker, an on-body device about three inches in length and an inch wide, that is placed on a patient’s chest and continuously monitors vital signs and symptomatic events. These measurements can include respiratory rate, resting heart rate, skin temperature, gait, body position and more. Through a strategic partnership with BioIntelliSense, UCHealth and its CARE Innovation Center, the biosticker sends data to UCHealth’s Virtual Health Center. Artificial intelligence-driven algorithms will alert the medical teams in the Virtual Health Center should they need to intervene. The device is expected to reduce health care costs, help improve patients’ outcomes and reduce readmissions.
• Arrive Health’s comparison-shopping tool for prescription pricing has been saving UCHealth patients money on prescription costs for years. Now its system is speeding the prior-authorization process for drugs that require insurer approval, saving time and hassle for patients and providers. The prior-authorization system is working smoothly at three UCHealth clinics with the goal of rolling it out systemwide by the end of 2025, says Surabhi Palkimas, PharmD, UCHealth’s pharmacy operation manager and a professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
• UCHealth is working with the Denver-based health-technology firm Eonto try to solve the puzzle of incidental findings. With help and investment from UCHealth, they’ve built a system that integrates into UCHealth’s Epic electronic health record (EHR), the engine behind the My Health Connection patient portal and much more. The system, Eon Patient Management, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to parse the standardized language of radiologists for incidental findings, categorize them based on risk, and then make sure they don’t get lost in medical records.

Having medical students train in hospitals and clinics across Colorado benefits patients, said Dr. Jaime Baker, a hospitalist at UCHealth Memorial Hospital and assistant dean for the Colorado Springs Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship program.

CU has about 200 medical students per class. Students complete their first year mainly in the classroom at Anschutz or Fort Collins and then head out into the clinic space throughout Colorado during their second year (LIC year) before returning to the medical campus for their final two years of medical school.

Southern Colorado has benefited from having 25-30 CU medical students per year in local hospitals and clinics, including those placed at UCHealth Memorial Hospital, multiple other private or community practices and many military health care facilities.

One of the assignments for students in Colorado Springs is to create a list of community resources — anything from women’s care to free dental exams or transportation for older adults — that enhance care for patients in Southern Colorado.

“When we assign tasks like this to students, they learn about local resources for patients and then naturally incorporate those services into their practice. They start to learn and invest in the community, which increases the chances those students will return to Southern Colorado to practice,’’ Baker said.

While teaching is generally thought of as a skill only offered in academic medical centers, CU sees the value of training future physicians in community-based health centers. Both physicians who teach and patients benefit from students.

“Studies show that a physician rounding with a learner can increase patient satisfaction because the physician improves bedside rapport,’’ Baker said. “The physician is seen as knowledgeable because they are teaching right in front of the patient. The patient is thus at the center of that interaction and really feels like part of the team and decisions leading to their care plan,’’ Baker said.

To date, seven physicians who trained in Colorado Springs during their second year of medical school now practice in Colorado Springs.

“A lot of specialties require many more years in training than we have been in existence in Colorado Springs. We, for example, haven’t even hit the point where we could bring a neurosurgeon back the community, but we will soon,’’ Baker said.

Having an academic medical center in Colorado to grow well-educated doctors and other health care professionals, conduct medical research and contribute mightily to the state’s economy makes for improved quality of life.

Academic medical centers, as Dr. Kutner knows, are a hub for positive energy.

“It’s one of the most fulfilling things ever — from multiple perspectives,’’ she said. “Aside from educating, it brings innovation and industry.

“One of our commitments is to provide opportunities for people to participate in research, hopefully close to where they live. It gives people the opportunity to advance science and potentially receive early access to treatments that are only available through research studies.’’

“When students come to an academic environment like UCHealth, it’s a healing environment. What makes us unique at UCHealth as we are an organization focused on learning, healing and discovery. We’re always learning, always discovering and integrating that with the healing that we do,’’ Kutner said.