- Cedar City Hospital's $7 million expansion adds 4,500 square feet, nine emergency rooms, new PET/CT camera.
- The expansion aims to enhance care access for growing local needs and nearby tourists.
- The emergency department's new facilities have already reduced patient stay length by over 16% since partial use began in January.
CEDAR CITY — Almost a year after construction began, Cedar City Hospital's emergency department expansion officially opened on Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting and open house.
The $7 million expansion added 4,500 square feet to provide an additional nine emergency rooms, three rooms dedicated to behavioral health and a molecular imaging services center.
A statement from Intermountain Health said the expansion was designed to "enhance access to care," and to serve growing needs of the community and millions of tourists at nearby recreation areas and national parks.
Jamison Robinett, president of Cedar City Hospital, said the expansion reinforces commitment to "exceptional, patient-centered care."
"These investments allow us to provide faster, more accurate diagnostics and a more seamless experience for every patient who walks through our doors," he said.
Robinett said the broadened services help give the Cedar City community access to "the highest level of care close to home" in a space designed for comfort and healing.
The Cedar City Hospital, which will now have 22 rooms, had over 21,000 visits in the last year, and the imaging department completed over 57,000 imaging procedures.
Jake Fausett, manager of the emergency department, said the expansion provides "much needed resources" that will help them treat patients faster.
"We have been able to utilize several of the new emergency rooms since January. Since then, we have reduced our average patient length of stay by over 16% so far. That improves overall flow, efficiency and patient experience," he said.
A new PET/CT and nuclear medicine camera will also provide a more comfortable experience for those who need oncology and cardiac scans and more access, the statement said.
Natalie Ashby, president of Intermountain Health's southwest market, said the expansion is important to its mission to improve health in communities.
"It has been shown that we recover better when you are able to remain close to home for our care, near our loved ones. This can be when emergency hits or when a family has extra needs," she said.
