Report to Our Community
October 15, 2026
As an academic medical center, one belief unites all 28,000 of us:
We believe health can be better.
There’s a version of health care that waits. It opens its doors, turns on the lights, and treats the people who make their way to us—sick, scared, and often too late.
We don’t believe that’s enough.
The truer work happens earlier, and elsewhere. In the years before a diagnosis. In the everyday places where people already are. It asks something different of an academic health system: to go looking for the child who hasn’t yet been failed by the system, the future clinician who hasn’t been told she belongs in this field, the family who is still one health challenge away from crisis. It means inviting the community to tell us what health means to them, then starting there.
This work is harder. It’s slower. And we believe it’s the only path to something better. That belief is the thread that runs through everything you’re about to read—through the 28,000 people at University of Utah Health who bring both expertise and genuine devotion to the table, and through the community members who trust us enough to teach us what we didn’t know to ask.
To all our partners in this work: Thank you.
Our Commitment to the Community
One of the reasons I came to serve at University of Utah Health was because of its deep commitment to partnering with communities.
Last fall, I had the privilege of joining a conversation with residents who shared their hopes about our first off-campus community hospital: the new University of Utah Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley. Neighbors asked practical questions about construction, the services we’ll offer, and the cost of care. Most importantly, they wanted to know: Will this be a place that not only meets our health care needs but also gives us somewhere to gather, learn, and connect?
That question resonated with me.
It’s not enough to build in a community; we must build with the community—not only in West Valley but everywhere we serve. It’s through that deep sense of connection that a teenager in Price decides that medicine could be her life’s work; a high school counselor in San Juan County doesn’t hesitate to call one of our mental health specialists; and a family in Magna chooses to spend a Tuesday evening at a neighborhood event at the Eccles Health Campus.
True progress only happens in partnership. The stories that follow reflect five of the ways we’re changing what’s possible.
Thank you for welcoming us into your communities, because that’s how we learn and how we make health better—together.
Bob S. Carter, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, University of Utah Health; A. Lorris Betz Executive Vice President, Health Sciences
At the groundbreaking for our Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley, Freda Leutaafale Sauni, a resident and community leader, placed a lei around my neck—a small, warm gesture in the middle of a very big day. Freda honors her Polynesian heritage by making and giving leis at community meetings as an offering of connection and unity. I received mine as both an invitation and a responsibility.
At the groundbreaking for our Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley, Freda Leutaafale Sauni, a resident and community leader, placed a lei around my neck—a small, warm gesture in the middle of a very big day. Freda honors her Polynesian heritage by making and giving leis at community meetings as an offering of connection and unity. I received mine as both an invitation and a responsibility.
Our Commitment to the Community
One of the reasons I came to serve at University of Utah Health was because of its deep commitment to partnering with communities.
Last fall, I had the privilege of joining a conversation with residents who shared their hopes about our first off-campus community hospital: the new University of Utah Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley. Neighbors asked practical questions about construction, the services we’ll offer, and the cost of care. Most importantly, they wanted to know: Will this be a place that not only meets our health care needs but also gives us somewhere to gather, learn, and connect?
That question resonated with me.
It’s not enough to build in a community; we must build with the community—not only in West Valley but everywhere we serve. It’s through that deep sense of connection that a teenager in Price decides that medicine could be her life’s work; a high school counselor in San Juan County doesn’t hesitate to call one of our mental health specialists; and a family in Magna chooses to spend a Tuesday evening at a neighborhood event at the Eccles Health Campus.
True progress only happens in partnership. The stories that follow reflect five of the ways we’re changing what’s possible.
Thank you for welcoming us into your communities, because that’s how we learn and how we make health better—together.
Bob S. Carter, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, University of Utah Health; A. Lorris Betz Executive Vice President, Health Sciences
At the groundbreaking for our Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley, Freda Leutaafale Sauni, a resident and community leader, placed a lei around my neck—a small, warm gesture in the middle of a very big day. Freda honors her Polynesian heritage by making and giving leis at community meetings as an offering of connection and unity. I received mine as both an invitation and a responsibility.
At the groundbreaking for our Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley, Freda Leutaafale Sauni, a resident and community leader, placed a lei around my neck—a small, warm gesture in the middle of a very big day. Freda honors her Polynesian heritage by making and giving leis at community meetings as an offering of connection and unity. I received mine as both an invitation and a responsibility.
Our Health Priorities
MENTAL HEALTH
The Kids Are Not Alright
The next generation is walking into a strange, new world. Their mental health isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s the ground everything else depends on.
RURAL HEALTH
Care Without Limits
Six providers who made the choice to live and work in a small community find purpose while building a deep sense of connection.
FOOD INSECURITY
From Hunger to Health
Modern medicine often treats the disease but leaves nutrition outside the exam room. A small but growing movement is starting to see things differently.
JUVENILE JUSTICE
First Steps to Redemption
Compassionate health care helps incarcerated youth heal. It's also an investment in the future as more providers learn outside traditional hospital walls.
WEST VALLEY
Times Are Changing
West Valley is defined by its people—the ones working hard to preserve the city’s past while also shaping its vibrant, multicultural future.
Community Matters
It felt like it was 100 degrees that day, but I was too excited to care. We finally sank ceremonial shovels into the ground at Centennial Park—a real milestone for our new Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley.
We didn’t design the campus and then ask the community what they thought. For five years, alongside University Neighborhood Partners, we held more than 150 meetings with nearly 300 West Valley residents about what this campus could offer a community that’s been asking for services for years.
West Valley isn’t an isolated case anymore; it’s evidence of something bigger. A few years ago, the Association of American Medical Colleges named community collaboration a fourth mission—equal to research, education, and clinical care. I chair a council of people from across University of Utah Health, and every time we meet, I hear about work happening in a dozen corners of this state—researchers and teams who’ve spent years earning real trust with the communities they walk beside. My hope is simple: find that work, wherever it’s quietly happening and, whenever it’s wanted, help build it together so it can reach further than any one department, campus, or council could alone.
That’s the real lesson West Valley taught me: partnerships were never the hard part. People already show up for their communities. The real opportunity is helping that work be seen, connected, and able to travel beyond where it began. That feels exactly the right direction.
There is always more of this work to find—another partner, another opportunity, another reason to show up. This work didn’t start with us, and it won’t end with us. Many of you have been showing up for years, and we are honored to keep walking alongside you. Please keep leading the way and know you’ve got a strong partner in the university.
RyLee Curtis, MPP, Senior Director, Community Collaborations, University of Utah Health rylee.curtis@utah.edu
RyLee Curtis speaks with a community member at West Fest during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley.
RyLee Curtis speaks with a community member at West Fest during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley.
Community Matters
It felt like it was 100 degrees that day, but I was too excited to care. We finally sank ceremonial shovels into the ground at Centennial Park—a real milestone for our new Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley.
We didn’t design the campus and then ask the community what they thought. For five years, alongside University Neighborhood Partners, we held more than 150 meetings with nearly 300 West Valley residents about what this campus could offer a community that’s been asking for services for years.
West Valley isn’t an isolated case anymore; it’s evidence of something bigger. A few years ago, the Association of American Medical Colleges named community collaboration a fourth mission—equal to research, education, and clinical care. I chair a council of people from across University of Utah Health, and every time we meet, I hear about work happening in a dozen corners of this state—researchers and teams who’ve spent years earning real trust with the communities they walk beside. My hope is simple: find that work, wherever it’s quietly happening and, whenever it’s wanted, help build it together so it can reach further than any one department, campus, or council could alone.
That’s the real lesson West Valley taught me: partnerships were never the hard part. People already show up for their communities. The real opportunity is helping that work be seen, connected, and able to travel beyond where it began. That feels exactly the right direction.
There is always more of this work to find—another partner, another opportunity, another reason to show up. This work didn’t start with us, and it won’t end with us. Many of you have been showing up for years, and we are honored to keep walking alongside you. Please keep leading the way and know you’ve got a strong partner in the university.
RyLee Curtis, MPP, Senior Director, Community Collaborations, University of Utah Health rylee.curtis@utah.edu
RyLee Curtis speaks with a community member at West Fest during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley.
RyLee Curtis speaks with a community member at West Fest during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Eccles Health Campus & Eccles Hospital West Valley.
By the Numbers
Often, we talk about University of Utah Health as the only academic health center in the Mountain West—the place 10% of the country turns to for the most complex care, across Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and much of Nevada. More than 28,000 dedicated team members show up every day to keep this system running. We provide care across 2.6 million patient visits a year, conduct world-class research, and train most of the state’s health care professionals.
That’s only part of the story. The numbers on this page are a few examples of whatʼs happening beyond that. Screenings in a College of Health mobile unit. Dental care for patients who’ve never had it before. Students who show up to a rural school to answer a middle schoolerʼs questions about what a career in medicine actually looks like. Altogether it adds up to how a health system—and our community partners—give back to the state we serve.
Here are just a few of the ways we gave back.
500+
total community partnerships
$144.5 M
provided in uncompensated care
201,000
calls received and people reached via crises services and SafeUT line
400,000
meals donated for Meals to Heal Food Drive
45,394
cases handled by the Utah Poison Control Center in 2025 for people exposed to poisonous substances
Impact Across Utah and Beyond
36,653
dental visits provided for under-represented patients statewide in FY2026 through the School of Dentistry
1,660
patients screened for chronic diseases in 2025 through the Driving Out Diabetes Initiative in the College of Health
9,000
community members supported in grief groups through the College of Nursing’s Caring Connections program
2,500+
community members reached by College of Pharmacy students in CY2025 through screenings, education, and harm reduction outreach
5,403
community members received training in research skills in CY2025 through the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library (even while under significant construction!)
4,255
total engagements in FY26 across tribal, rural, and community outreach events hosted by the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine
University of Utah Health Report to Our Community
October 15, 2026
SYSTEM CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
Kathy Wilets, MPA
SYSTEM CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
Joe Borgenicht
PUBLISHER
Amy Albo, MA
SENIOR DIRECTOR, COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS
RyLee Curtis, MPP
EDITORS
Nafisa Masud, MS
Nick McGregor
CONTRIBUTORS
Kathyrn Bruns; Bethany Joy Burtch, MFA; Jessica Cagle; Amy Choate-Nielsen, MPC; Zoe Cunniffe; Lisk Feng, MFA; Mylo Fowler; Fernando Huerta; Kristan Jacobsen; Elaine Jarvik, MSJ; Aaron Lovell, MA; Laurie Robison; Laura Seitz; Jerilyn Stowe, MPC; Wesley Thomas; Sheridan Underwood; Adriana Velez, MA
ART DIRECTOR
Jesse Colby
DESIGN
Pentagram Austin: DJ Stout, Daniel Mejía, Connor O’Neill, Ava Webber
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