Community leaders, hospital caregivers, and project partners gathered in Fillmore, Utah, to celebrate the groundbreaking of a long-awaited expansion of the Intermountain Health Fillmore Community Hospital Emergency Department. The project aims to improve access to care for residents in the region.
Project Overview
The ceremony marked the beginning of a project designed to enhance patient care, improve privacy, and better support caregivers who serve the community. The expansion will add approximately 710 square feet of new space and renovate 2,400 square feet of existing space, totaling over 3,100 square feet of impact.
Key Features of the Expansion
The updated emergency department will include six treatment rooms, featuring two trauma rooms, a secure behavioral health room accessible from both the emergency and medical-surgical areas, a private isolation room that may also serve pediatric patients, a quick-treatment room, and a designated decontamination room.
Community Impact
Wayne Brown, MD, medical director of the hospital, emphasized the unique role community hospitals play in rural healthcare. "Our patients aren’t strangers," said Dr. Brown. "They are people we know, people we grew up with, and people we feel personally responsible for."
He noted that the existing emergency department space, though rich with memories, needed to be expanded and updated to serve the growing community. Kurt Forsyth, president of Intermountain Health Fillmore Community Hospital, provided an overview of the project and its history. The last major emergency room renovation occurred in 2009, and planning for the current expansion began in 2021.
"This expansion project addresses long-standing needs for our caregivers and patients that will enhance patient privacy, comfort, safety, and convenience," Forsyth said.
Commitment to Rural Healthcare
Dr. Brown and Forsyth both expressed gratitude to Intermountain Health for its commitment to rural healthcare, noting that at a time when many rural hospitals across the country are closing, continued investment ensures services remain local and accessible.
