UM gets state funding to jump-start physician assistant, occupational therapy programs

A one-time round of funding from the state will get two programs off the ground at the University of Montana aimed at addressing gaps in Montana’s health care workforce shortage. 

The separate programs, one for physician assistants and another named the UM Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program, will send future UM grads into critical roles across Montana’s health facilities.

The Behavioral Health System for Future Generations (BHSFG) Commission is tasked with determining how to spend roughly $300 million to overhaul Montana’s behavioral health and developmental disabilities systems, the Helena Independent Record previously reported. The commission greenlit the funding, about $3.1 million, for UM in May, according to UM Director of Strategic Communications Dave Kuntz. 

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“These additional resources from the state ensure we can begin accepting students on time and get graduates into the workforce in the next few years,” Kuntz said.

In their request to the commission, UM and  Office of Commissioner of Higher Education officials wrote Montana has dire shortages in both areas “due, in large part, to lack of affordable, accessible degree programs in these fields.”

The request cites a 2022 Montana Department of Labor and Industry Report that estimated

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