Utahns who have advanced melanoma cancer no longer have to leave the state to get a groundbreaking new treatment that is showing promise for patients with the deadliest type of skin cancer. Intermountain Health has launched a new program to provide tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy to treat patients with a type of skin cancer called unresectable or metastatic melanoma that cannot be removed surgically or has spread to other parts of the body. As part of the treatment process, doctors use AMTAGVI, the first and only FDA-approved prescription medication for the treatment of advanced melanoma that has not responded to standard therapies. AMTAGVI activates the patient's own immune system to target and destroy cancer cells and represents a different approach compared to other immunotherapies. Instead of broadly stimulating the immune system, it harnesses a patient's own tumor-specific T cells to directly target and destroy cancer cells. This is the first time this therapy has been used to treat patients in Utah. For Utahns, having the therapy program available locally is a major advancement. Not only does Utah have the highest incidence of melanoma in the nation, but until now, Utahns needing TIL therapy had to travel out of state for their care.
American Fork Hospital in American Fork, Utah has reached a major milestone—it’s now officially a Level III Trauma Center! This certification means the hospital is equipped to provide rapid emergency care, including 24/7 physician coverage, surgical support, and critical patient stabilization. With this new designation, American Fork Hospital can handle moderate to severe trauma cases, ensuring our patients receive top-tier treatment close to home.
Congratulations to the following Intermountain Health hospitals for achieving an "A" Safety Grade for Spring 2025 from The Leapfrog Group! Colorado: ⭐ Good Samaritan Hospital - Lafayette ⭐ Lutheran Hospital - Wheat Ridge ⭐ Platte Valley Hospital - Brighton ⭐ Saint Joseph Hospital - Denver ⭐ St. Mary's Regional Hospital - Grand Junction Montana: ⭐ St. Vincent Regional Hospital - Billings Utah: ⭐ Alta View Hospital - Sandy ⭐ Cedar City Hospital - Cedar City ⭐ Intermountain Medical Center - Murray ⭐ LDS Hospital - Salt Lake City ⭐ Logan Regional Hospital - Logan ⭐ McKay-Dee Hospital - Ogden ⭐ Park City Hospital - Park City ⭐ Riverton Hospital - Riverton ⭐ Spanish Fork Hospital - Spanish Fork ⭐ St. George Regional Hospital - St. George ⭐ Utah Valley Hospital - Provo The biannual Safety Grade is an "A," "B," "C," "D" or "F" assigned to all general hospitals in the United States based on their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections. These largely preventable problems harm one in four hospital inpatients and cause as many as 250,000 deaths each year.
Tellica Imaging, an Intermountain Health company, has hit an incredible milestone — 100,000 high-quality scans — while saving patients nearly $12 million in medical imaging costs. Whether it’s a CT scan for $400 or an MRI for $600, patients know the cost upfront. Discover how Tellica provides affordable, accessible, and high-quality care for patients while focusing on innovation and excellence in radiology.
Dr. Torres’ mom worked at the VA in Loma Linda, California, as a lab supervisor. Dr. Torres’ job was to volunteer during her mom’s work hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. She spent them doing whatever there was to do: making coffee, showing people around. These were the days before the electronic health record, so she’d cart around big stacks of charts in manila envelopes. The nurses encouraged her to learn phlebotomy – she could take a course with the community college. She got certified at age 16. Sometimes she’d just keep patients company. She learned how to shoot pool. Sometimes the jobs were more random. She’s now the OB Hospitalist director for our Southern Utah and Nevada region, overseeing physicians at the region’s two hospitals, which deliver more than 600 babies every month. The role involves some administrative work but also allows her to keep in practice, mostly in labor and delivery and some gynecological surgery. It’s what she loves, and it goes back to what she learned as a volunteer: The people matter most. “Sometimes somebody needs you to be a doctor,” she says. “Sometimes they just need you to listen. You never know what someone really needs until you take that time. That’s where you can make a difference. You don’t have to change the world. Just listen to that one person in front of you right now.”
As Intermountain Health caregivers, we are leaders in clinical excellence. Part of that excellence involves a keen awareness of what our patients say and how even offhand comments can lead to bigger discoveries.
Noah Nelson was showering after a workout when the symptoms struck: nausea, blurred vision, numbness in his lower arms. He called into work and went home to lie down. It was then he felt the most severe pain he’d ever felt – a piercing pain “like an ice pick shoved into my chest.” He went back to urgent care, this time at Intermountain Medical Center (IMED) in Murray, Utah. The team there, too, thought a heart attack seemed unlikely, but they administered an EKG just to be sure. The results were so off-the charts the team thought the machine might have malfunctioned. They got another machine and tried again. The results were clear: Noah was in ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI. After consulting with Dr. Harrison and the cardiology team, the urgent care team activated the STEMI protocol. An ambulance rushed Noah to the emergency room at IMED, and then quickly from there to the cardiac catheterization lab. Dr. Harrison met him there. Dr. Harrison’s work that day doubtless saved Noah’s life, but what stands out to Dr. Harrison is that, had it not been for the work of the entire team, from urgent care to the emergency room, none of it could have happened at all.
Japanese train conductors use a practice called Shisha Kanko, or pointing and calling, to keep passengers safe. The widely studied point and call method has shown that using our bodies and vocalizing our repetitive tasks reduces human error by 85%. After experiencing mislabeled specimens, the American Fork Hospital endoscopy team in American Fork, Utah began practicing point and call to make sure every specimen is labeled correctly. Learn how they transformed their workflow, eliminating errors and enhancing patient care.
Intermountain Health’s vast network of 68,000+ caregivers is a tapestry of talent and dedication. With so many roles, some departments may surprise you. When you think about healthcare, you might not immediately picture the team that maintains our helicopters. But even in this era of automation, it's dedicated caregivers who keep everything running smoothly. Each department reveals the diverse and inspiring work happening behind the scenes. We hope you'll enjoy getting to know these teams and learning about their dedication, wisdom, and passion for helping people live the healthiest lives possible.
When five-year-old McKinley's cartwheel turned into surgery and an overnight stay at Cedar City Hospital in Cedar City, Utah, she decided to turn her injury into a donation that would help future pediatric patients at Cedar City. Learn more about McKinley's motivation to inspire a mission of kindness in the article below.
