Hospital Expansion Planned for Provo

PROVO, Utah—Construction is expected to get under way in early 1975 on a $14 million expansion of the Utah Valley Hospital. Preliminary drawings are now being made and bids are expected to be called for in November or December of this year.

The new facility will be constructed immediately north of the existing hospital and will consist of a seven-story tower that will accommodate 208 new “acute medical-surgical” patient beds, including a 24-bed intensive care and coronary unit.

In line with the national trend, the new building will feature single-care patient rooms complete with individual showers and toilet facilities. Grant C. Burgon, hospital administrator, says that the single-care room is more practical than multiple-bed wards, as patients can obtain the rest they need without being disturbed. “Ambulatory patients can visit with other patients or in the main visiting areas, or they can retire to their rooms and rest quietly,” he explained.

Construction of the new facility will not disrupt existing services, says Brother Burgon, because the expansion will be a structure completely separate from the old building. When completed in late 1976, it will have two structural links with the existing structure, a section of which, built in 1939, will be razed.

Church Health Services Corporation will provide $10 million toward construction, and the remaining $4 million will be raised by community projects in the area served by the hospital.