50 years of caring: depth & breadth of U of U's medical expertise means lifesaving care is always close to home.

• Author: Nelson, Chris
• Position: TIMEOUT FOR HEALTH

On July 10, 1965, a fleet of police-escorted Salt Lake County ambulances wound their way through Salt Lake City carrying patients from the old County General Hospital to the University of Utah's new 220-bed teaching hospital. The opening of University Hospital was the fulfillment of a dream by business and civic leaders who knew Utah's economic future relied on a health care system able to provide the state's growing workforce with high-quality specialty medical care.

By the early 1960s, the University's medical school had earned a strong national reputation, but patients with complicated or rare diseases still had to leave the state to seek care at academic medical centers on the West Coast. The construction of a major medical center meant that University physicians could offer wider treatment options and patients could participate in national clinical trials.

Today, University of Utah Hospital continues to live up to the high expectations of Utah's business community. As the flagship of the University's health care system, the hospital is home to a full-range of trauma services including the region's only comprehensive burn center, brain injury and surgical intensive care units, high-risk obstetrics and newborn intensive care units, comprehensive organ transplant services, infectious disease expertise, orthopedics care, and state-of-the-art heart and vascular treatment programs. These programs rely on a robust support network of complex imaging technology, electronic health records, and a talented workforce that epitomizes both compassion and technical...