Intermountain Primary Children’s Receives $10M Gift to Create Model Health System for Children

$10 Million Gift to Second Primary Children’s Hospital Campus in Lehi Propels Intermountain Health’s Historic Vision to Create the Nation’s Model Health System for Children

(PRUnderground) November 17th, 2023

Children will have better access to expert care, thanks to a $10 million gift from a Utah County family to Intermountain Health’s Primary Promise and the new Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Campus in Lehi, Utah.

Blake and Sandy Modersitzki and their family have provided a $10 million gift to help build the Miller Family Campus, which will enhance access to expert specialty pediatric care throughout this expansive and growing region when it opens early next year.

The Modersitzkis’ gift helps fuel Intermountain Health’s more than $600 million Primary Promise to build upon its 100-year history and create the nation’s model health system for children by strengthening Primary Children’s Hospital, extending pediatric excellence, and addressing emerging needs of a growing pediatric population.

“We’re humbled by the Modersitzki family’s example of kindness and philanthropy, and grateful for the positive impact their gift will have on generations of children,” said Katy Welkie, chief executive officer for Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital and vice president of Intermountain Children’s Health.

To honor the Modersitzkis’ gift, the campus’ gathering and educational space will be named The Blake and Sandy Modersitzki Family Education & Conference Center.

Primary Promise is a historic, transformative, multi-faceted plan and investment of at least $600 million in children’s health, shared by Intermountain Health and community philanthropic support.

The Modersitzkis come from generations of family committed to the health and wellbeing of others, from those who help, and those who’ve been helped.

Blake Modersitzki’s grandmother loved being a nurse, and worked full time until she was 72, and part time until she was 78. Another grandmother was a hospital switchboard operator when Blake was born, and later oversaw the hospital’s office work, from medical records to insurance.

Sandy Modersitzki’s young niece was treated for cancer at Primary Children’s Hospital many years ago. Though she succumbed to the illness, Sandy was moved by the tender care her niece and her family received at the hospital.

“As soon as our family learned about Primary Promise and, specifically, the Miller Family Campus in Lehi, we and our daughters were moved to put our full support behind it,” Sandy Modersitzki said. “We wanted to give to Primary Children’s now to help address the urgent needs of children and families in our community today. This is an absolute treasure being placed in our backyard, and our hope is that this gift encourages every surrounding business and family in a position to do so to join us in making a mark on future generations here.”

Blake Modersitzki says he hopes other community members will be similarly inspired by Primary Promise.

“If our family’s gift inspires one person to give, then we’ve succeeded,” he said. “We will have honored our family who came before us, their hard work, and the good they did in their communities, by helping other families here with us now, and whose children need the care.”

The 38-acre Miller Family Campus includes the Outpatient Center and a five-story, 66-bed, 486,000-square-foot Primary Children’s Hospital, where medical staff will be fully integrated with the expert clinicians at the Salt Lake hospital campus.

Hospital services will include:

• Inpatient behavioral health unit with comprehensive behavioral health services
• The state’s first pediatric crisis center
• 19-bay emergency department and trauma services, including in-room x-rays
• Neonatal intensive care (NICU) surgical services
• Pediatric intensive care (ICU) services
• Acute medical and surgical care services
• 6 operating suites
• 9 infusion rooms, including chemotherapy
• Advanced imaging
• Pediatric subspecialties and diagnostics

The Outpatient Center will include:

• Three behavioral health programs, including an outpatient clinic, intensive outpatient services, and partial hospitalization program for higher acuity patients not quite in need of inpatient care.
• Diagnostic services and technology, including neurological electroencephalogram, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram services for the heart; and pulmonary function tests, among others.
• The Safe and Healthy Families program for patients healing from physical or sexual abuse.
• Full outpatient rehabilitation services including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, feeding therapy, and cardiac rehabilitation.
• An oncology and infusion center with a rooftop patio and stunning view of the Wasatch Mountains.

“Soon, these services will be available to children and families, thanks to the community’s support of Primary Promise,” said Lisa Paletta, president of the Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Campus. “Community giving built Primary Children’s a century ago, and we’re grateful that the spirit of giving continues to thrive today. We’re thankful for the generosity, and the impact these gifts will have on children’s health and wellbeing into the future.”

The new hospital and clinics will help families like the Blodgett family, who live just a few minutes away from the Miller Family Campus. The family has four children, including 5-year-old Talmage, a cardiology patient. The family says it’s comforting to have the new facility so close to them and other families when the need arises.

“We appreciate the people who have given so much to expand Primary Children’s to this new hospital in our community,” said Talmage’s mom, Jenna Blodgett. “Because of this support, and especially Talmage’s caregivers, Primary Children’s Hospital has given Talmage a full and beautiful, happy life.”

To learn how you can support the Primary Promise campaign, contact [email protected].

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in seven states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 3,900 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.

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Original Press Release.