ROCKY VISTA UNIVERSITY

Rocky Vista University (RVU) has a mission to provide quality health care education while inspiring students to serve with compassion, integrity, and excellence.

RVU was founded in 2006 in Parker, Colorado, with the Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM). In 2017, RVUCOM opened a second campus in Ivins, Utah, becoming the first new medical school in Utah in over one hundred years. Currently, RVUCOM-UT has a class size of approximately 160 students per year. Southern Utah was selected as the site of our second campus because of the primary care provider shortage throughout the state, particularly in the south.

In addition to the osteopathic medical school, the campus in Ivins is home to a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences program. This program is designed to help students who need some additional preparation to get ready for medical school.

The students who attend RVUCOM-UT come from over thirty states, and approximately 40 percent are from Utah. Our top feeder schools are our own master’s program, Brigham Young University, Southern Utah University, and the University of Utah.

Our students perform extremely well on national standardized licensing exams and match into a broad spectrum of residency programs.

Osteopathic medicine is a distinctive approach to providing care by Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs). Approximately 11 percent of physicians are DOs, and one in four medical students in the US are going to a DO medical school. The philosophy of DOs is patient-centric, looking beyond symptoms to understand how lifestyle and environmental factors impact wellness.

DOs practice in every specialty, and approximately 50 percent of DOs practice in primary care (family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics). At the medical school, DO students learn the full scope of medicine and surgery with special emphasis on the musculoskeletal system and the mind-body-spirit connection to health.

In addition to the educational programs, RVU has a medical practice that provides full-scope family medicine, including primary care, adult and senior care, women’s health, pediatrics, and telemedicine. We also have specialists who practice osteopathic manipulative medicine. Steven Harmon, DO, is the medical director of this practice and sees patients five days per week, focusing on the healthcare needs of individuals and families. The health center is located at 272 E. Center Street in Ivins, Utah, and accepts most forms of insurance. More information on the Rocky Vista Health Center can be found at https://www.rockyvistahcivins.com/ or by calling (435) 233-9500.

David A. Forstein, DO, FACOOOG