Idaho State University officials talked up their deepening partnership with a private medical school — and Idaho State’s hopes of growing its health professions programs.

“It’s something we’re doubling down on,” Idaho State President Robert Wagner said Thursday, as legislative budget-writers toured Idaho State’s Meridian campus and the adjacent Idaho College for Osteopathic Medicine.

Neither Wagner nor ICOM President Tracy Farnsworth brought up the idea of Idaho State buying ICOM — and lawmakers didn’t ask about the prospect either. As Idaho Education News reported last week, Idaho State is studying the feasibility of buying ICOM, although the college is not now for sale.

Lawmakers might not have to decide overnight about an ICOM purchase, but the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee members on Thursday’s tour will have some more immediate budget decisions on their hands.

They will have to set a budget for all four four-year schools, including Idaho State. They’ll also have to work through some specific requests. For example, Idaho State wants $14 million to put toward replacing its Life Sciences building — a focal point for its Pocatello-based health professions programs, said Wagner, and an aging building that will be cheaper to replace than renovate.

And the budget decisions could chart the course for health professions programs across Idaho’s higher education system. As Idaho grows — and as its population grows older — the state’s colleges and universities are scrambling for a share of the health professions education market. For example, nursing is Idaho State’s most popular undergraduate program, but other colleges and universities are ramping up their nursing offerings.

Presenting their case to lawmakers, Idaho State officials touted their tradition, and their innovations.

With an array of 55 programs, Idaho State graduates about 1,000 students a year with degrees in the health sciences. In all, 57% of Idaho’s health care workforce are Idaho State alums, said Rex Force, Idaho State’s senior vice provost and vice president for health sciences.

ICOM clearly fits into Idaho State’s plans — now and into the future.

“Our relationship needs to grow,” Wagner said.

Founded in 2018, ICOM sits on leased Idaho State property. The two schools already offer dual degrees, clinical research partnerships and a collaborative rural training program, and Farnsworth said he hopes the schools will add more shared faculty in the future.

ICOM also is in growth mode. Accreditors recently gave ICOM the go-ahead to boost its new enrollment to 220 students per year, up from 150. It’s all part of a race to get graduates through medical school and residencies, and working in a state where doctors are scarce and aging.

“We just can’t get them in here quickly enough,” Farnsworth said.

ICOM’s growth caught the attention of one of the budget committee’s co-chairs.

The state could put some taxpayer money into buying some seats at ICOM, subsidizing Idaho students who want to attend the college, said Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls. The state already has similar arrangements with medical schools at the University of Washington and the University of Utah.

A longtime JFAC member who has focused on education budgets for years, Horman says she has long been worried about Idaho’s shortage of health professionals. The ICOM-Idaho State collaboration could be a step in the right direction.

“It was great to learn about the existing partnerships,” Horman said Thursday.

Rep. Josh Tanner also said he was encouraged to hear that Idaho State is looking to innovate and adapt. But the Eagle Republican voiced some concern about the growth of programs such as nursing. Students might be filling the nursing programs, but Tanner is worried that jobs might not be awaiting them after graduation.

“Are we overshooting our mark?” he said.