Intermountain Park City Hospital in Park City, Utah is celebrating the opening of the new sports medicine and performance center. The remodeled center has new state-of-the-art equipment including 3D motion capture, high speed treadmills, and a neuro rehabilitation ceiling track. The wide range of programs now being offered are meant to help everyone with their movement and fitness – from Olympic athletes trying to gain an advantage to everyday athletes and people recovering from serious injuries. “By having all of these services under one roof we can ensure that if someone is looking to improve their health and movement then we have someone who can help them achieve their goals,” said Marlene Morgan, a physical therapist and manager of sports medicine and performance at Intermountain Park City Hospital. “We have very active people in our community, and this helps ensure they can keep doing what they love. In addition to physical therapy, sports performance and sports medicine, the new center also offers comprehensive lifestyle medicine and wellness services to better meet the needs of the community.
Meet Justine Baukus, RCIS, RCES, the new chest pain coordinator for Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette, Colorado. Justine’s journey to this role is deeply intertwined with her family’s history of heart disease. After graduating from Southeast Technical College and completing a 7-month clinical internship at Northern Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, Colorado, Justine began her career as a catheterization (‘cath’) lab technologist 11 ½ years ago, when Good Samaritan was part of Exempla Health. She always knew she wanted to work in cardiology, driven by her family’s experiences. As chest pain coordinator, Justine’s role is all about collaboration, time, and efficiency. “I help with relations between the emergency department and the cath lab for heart attack patients,” says Justine. “Time is muscle. Our goal is to minimize the time between when the patient arrives and having their vessel opened.” Justine plans to continue her career at Good Samaritan and is appreciative of her new role, which includes community outreach. She’s excited to engage in the community and provide knowledge, which she says is like ‘gold’. On advice for women who may want to get started in the medical field, “If you have a heart for helping people and you can handle blood, the medical field is amazing,” Justine added, “I tend to like immediate gratification. I really like helping people in the moment.”
For the 'Great 8' medical surgical unit at St. Mary's Regional Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado, a positive culture driven by transparency and teamwork is leading to sustained success. Emy Ragsdale BSN, RN, CMSRN has been a key driver of that culture. Ragsdale, the unit’s nurse manager, helped create the unit in 2021 and facilitated a transition from the third to eighth floor in January 2023 to accommodate evolving hospital needs. After serving as a 12-bed acuity-based unit on the third floor, it now operates with 24 medical surgical beds today and plans to expand to 32 beds by April. The team of roughly 70 caregivers provides essential care for patients who are either preparing for or recovering from surgical procedures. Alongside quality patient care, the unit hosts job sharing opportunities for nurses from other floors to pick up shifts a few times per month. They also take pride in developing the Western Slope’s next generation of nurses, helping certified nursing assistants (CNAs) learn the intricacies of life in a hospital and prepare for job interviews. When it comes time for CNAs to graduate nursing school, Ragsdale and other team leaders attend their pinning ceremonies with “fathead” stick-signs like you’d see in the crowd of a college basketball game. “We’re building community,” said Autumn Rowher, RN. “It has been a complete gamechanger for us.”
At Intermountain Health, we help people live their healthiest lives beyond the reach of our physical walls. While a lot of work happens with patients at care sites, we also serve our members and communities as part of our Fundamentals. A good example is in Spanish-speaking communities. We work with Telemundo and Univision, nationally known Spanish television stations, to talk about important health topics relevant to the community. Dr. Maria Borrero, medical oncologist, is a key part of our efforts.
Intermountain Cedar City Hospital in Cedar City, Utah hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking last week to mark the expansion of the hospital’s emergency department that will increase access to emergency medicine and enhance care for the growing Southwest Utah community. The new emergency department will add more emergency rooms, including those dedicated to behavioral health needs. Intermountain Cedar City Hospital's emergency department treated more than 20,000 patients in 2024. As the Southern Utah community continues to grow, this 5,000-square foot expansion is a needed addition, addressing the growing needs of the community and the millions of tourists and outdoor enthusiasts who visit nearby national parks and outdoor recreational areas. “We are looking forward to this major milestone for Intermountain Cedar City Hospital and our community as we continue to focus on the growing health needs for this area,” said Jamison Robinett, president of Intermountain Cedar City Hospital. “This is our first major expansion since 2006, and we are excited to expand emergency access for the Southwest Utah community.”
When the new Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital opened in August 2024 in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, it closed a 120-year chapter on the legacy Lutheran Medical Center care site. However, parts of that old hospital have gone on to provide crucial community support that exemplifies the Intermountain Health mission.
Four-year-old Sienna works out at Intermountain Health Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah like she’s training for something big. She really is: a new heart. Despite her young age, Sienna is already making history. Sienna is one of the first pediatric patients in the world to undergo structured cardiac rehabilitation workouts at Primary Children’s Hospital while connected to a ventricular assistive device (VAD) that helps keep her heart beating. The workouts have helped her go from a 3-year-old who could barely move while in the intensive care unit (ICU), to an energetic child who likes to run through the hospital halls and push a toy shopping cart filled with weights. “As parents, some of our hardest days were when Sienna was so sick and weak that she had no desire to play,” said her mom, Francesca Barton. “Now you’d never even guess she has half of a heart. She is so strong and energetic that she wears all of us adults out.” For the pediatric cardiac team at Primary Children’s Hospital, Sienna’s progress is another example of the medical advances at the hospital that is helping young heart patients survive and thrive. “Cardiac rehab without a doubt has helped our VAD patients go into heart transplant stronger and healthier than ever before,” said Lindsay May, MD, pediatric cardiologist at University of Utah Health who helps oversee the VAD program at Primary Children’s Hospital.
How do caregivers find strength to serve our patients? For Sholom Nadler, NP, he relies not only on his medical knowledge but his faith. Prior to becoming an advanced practice provider, Sholom was ordained as a rabbi. Through secular collegiate studies, Sholom became more interested in healthcare and switched career paths, eventually moving from New York to Nevada. He currently sees patients at the Pecos Senior Clinic in Henderson, Nevada. But although he shifted his focus, Sholom harnesses those values to treat his patients, from his time as a rabbi and his outreach growing up in a tightly knit Orthodox community in Brooklyn. Sholom supports his evidence-based care with a faith that gives him more confidence to do the right thing.
Susan Dahl is one of the first patients in Colorado whose life changed for the better as the result of a minimally invasive heart procedure to repair her damaged tricuspid heart valves.
Congratulations to the following Intermountain Health hospitals for being recognized with Healthgrades' Patient Safety Excellence Award™ in 2025! ⭐ Cedar City Hospital - Cedar City, Utah ⭐ Platte Valley Hospital - Brighton, Colorado ⭐ The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital (TOSH) - Murray, Utah ⭐ Utah Valley Hospital - Provo, Utah The Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recognizes hospitals in the top 10% in the nation for patient safety, with the lowest occurrences of 14 preventable patient safety events. You can read more about the methodology and see the full list of 2025 winners below.
