“Continual growth and success is key to what we do,” said Administrator/CEO Scott Mortensen. “The ASC is part of the growth in the community and will provide services close to home at a lower cost. From the hospital’s perspective it just makes sense.”

“We’re excited,” said Layton Mayor Joy Petro. “Before this whole development there were hayfields here. We’re fortunate that the hospital decided to come here and purchase the property. At first they said it would be a full service hospital but then they decided to take a step back and see what the community needed. We were devastated because we thought there would be no hospital but they reevaluated and decided it would go here. The project started in 2015.”

Petro said the city let the neighbors know what was going on. “They love the hospital and what they’ve done here. Intermountain has done an excellent job analyzing what is best for the client and not necessarily the bottom line – that speaks volumes.”

The new center will be nearly 18,000 square feet with four operating rooms and is projected to be completed by 2024.

Chief Medical Officer Glen Morrell, M.D. remembers visiting his grandma where his aunt was convalescing after having cataracts removed. “She had sandbags on each side of her head so she couldn’t move,” he said. “Today that can be done in a same day surgery. What a difference. If you had to have your appendix out it took three days before you could go home. If you came in now in a few hours you’d be home in your own bed.”

The ASC will maximize the recovery of patients, he said. “It also increases the value of care for patients. Healthcare is expensive especially for the middle class. This will decrease cost. It will be a wonderful thing for patients.”

“Without the overhead of a hospital, we can provide the same great care and charge about half as much,” said Mortensen. “We’ll have 23 hour stays where patients are not admitted to the hospital. We can do total joints and other surgeries because of that.”

Sixty to 70 percent of the operating volume will be done in the surgical center, he said. “That opens up more capacity for surgeries that do need to be done in the hospital.”

“Top of mind for doctors and surgeons is where patients can get the very best care possible,” said Morrell. “The number of hospital cases keeps going up. Joints, hips, knees had to be done in the hospital now that can be done as an outpatient. Infection rates are lower because you don’t have to be with sick patients like in a hospital. It’s so much easier to recover in your own bed.”