IHC starts on second Primary Children's Hospital

Intermountain Healthcare has broken ground on a second Primary Children’s Hospital. Named the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Campus, the new hospital will bring much-needed pediatric healthcare services closer to the Utah County area, Intermountain said.

Plans for the 38-acre campus include a full-service children’s hospital providing the same specialty pediatric services that patients will receive at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, with the exception of transplant and heart surgery. The location in high-growth Utah County will help many families avoid traveling long distances to access high-quality specialty pediatric care, said Lisa Paletta, administrator of Primary Children’s Hospital in Lehi.

“Right now, more than half of the children treated at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City must travel an hour or more to receive treatment,” Paletta said. “Breaking ground on the new Miller Family Campus represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand Primary Children’s pediatric specialty care in one of the nation’s fastest-growing pediatric populations and provide the right care, at the right time, in the right place for many families. We are thankful to the Miller family, Lehi City leaders and Mayor Mark Johnson, Intermountain Healthcare and Intermountain Foundation, whose strong partnership made this day possible,” Paletta added.

The Miller Family Campus of Primary Children’s Hospital is part of Intermountain Healthcare’s $500 million plans to create the nation’s model health system for children. This multi-faceted plan and historic investment in children’s health will be equally shared by Intermountain Healthcare and community philanthropic support through an emerging campaign organized by the Intermountain Foundation.

Plans for the model health system were announced in January 2020, inspiring a transformational $50 million gift from Utah businesswoman, civic leader and philanthropist Gail Miller and the Miller family.

“Intermountain Healthcare has determined, in conjunction with the Miller family, that the best use of this incredible gift is to support the building of a second Primary Children’s Hospital campus in Lehi,” said Dr. Marc Harrison, president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, who is also a pediatric critical care physician. “The campus will be known as the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Campus and it will improve the lives of children and families for generations to come.”

The innovative plans for the state-of-the-art hospital will fill a need in Utah and surrounding states that has not been available before, said Gail Miller, who is owner and chair of the Larry H. Miller Group of Cos. and chair of the Intermountain Healthcare Board of Trustees.

Miller said she has felt fortunate to have Primary Children’s Hospital close to home to address the needs of children.

“One of our family’s guiding principles is to ‘go about doing good until there is too much good in the world.’ We decided to honor our mission by helping to impact the collective future of our whole state, by helping to fund this hospital and be part of the good Intermountain Healthcare will bring to the whole Intermountain region,” said Miller.

The facility is scheduled to open in early 2024.