Intermountain Health has started construction on an expansion of the emergency department at Fillmore Community Hospital, a project intended to address capacity and infrastructure needs at the rural Utah facility.

Hospital leaders, local officials and project partners marked the groundbreaking April 22, signaling the start of a project that has been in planning since 2021. The last major renovation of the emergency department occurred in 2009.

According to Kurt Forsyth, CEO of Intermountain Health Fillmore Community Hospital, the project will add about 710 square feet of new space and renovate roughly 2,400 square feet of existing space, affecting more than 3,100 square feet overall.
“This expansion project addresses long-standing needs for our caregivers and patients that will enhance patient privacy, comfort, safety, and convenience,” Forsyth said.

The updated department is expected to include six treatment rooms, including two trauma rooms, as well as a behavioral health room accessible from both the emergency department and medical-surgical unit. Plans also call for a private isolation room that can be used for pediatric care, a quick-treatment room and a dedicated decontamination space.

Dr. Wayne Brown, medical director of the hospital, said the existing emergency department has served the community for years but no longer meets current demands.

“Our patients aren’t strangers,” Brown said. “They are people we know, people we grew up with, and people we feel personally responsible for.”

Hospital leaders framed the project as part of a broader effort to maintain access to local care in rural communities, where facilities have faced closures and service reductions nationwide.

Construction is now underway, with completion expected to expand the hospital’s emergency care capacity and update clinical spaces to current standards.

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