Intermountain Press Release

Salt Lake City—The largest and most comprehensive trauma center and emergency department in the Intermountain West is one step closer to reality thanks to a generous gift from one of Utah's most prominent banking families.

The family of Roy W. Simmons has pledged $5 million to help build and equip the trauma center and emergency department at Intermountain Medical Center (IMC), the $362.5 million new hospital being built by Intermountain Healthcare in Murray. The gift was made to The Campaign for Intermountain Medical Center, which has already raised $30 million of its $50 million goal.

"This gift speaks volumes about the Simmons family's commitment to the people of Utah," said campaign vice chair Ron Hanson, retired Zion's bank executive and chair of The Deseret Foundation, fundraising arm of Intermountain's Salt Lake Valley hospitals. "The family is particularly interested in trauma and emergency care and wanted to ensure the best possible facilities and equipment for all of us."

"When you need a trauma center you need it as badly as you will ever need anything. Intermountain wants to build one of the best trauma centers and emergency services in the country to serve all of us here in the Salt Lake Valley and our family wants to help that happen," said David E. Simmons, president and CEO of Simmons Media Group, Inc. and son of Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons.

The Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Trauma Center and Emergency Service will be contained in 40 rooms - the largest physical trauma center of any emergency service in Utah.

The new Intermountain Medical Center trauma center will replace the facility currently located at LDS Hospital as one of only two adult Utah hospitals designated as Level I trauma centers. The LDS Hospital Trauma Center's patient outcomes have been judged among the very best in the nation by the American College of Surgeons.

"This is a wonderful gift that will benefit patients for generations to come," says H. Gary Pehrson, regional vice president for Intermountain.

The trauma center will move to Intermountain Medical Center when it opens in 2007. Intermountain officials expect the new trauma center to be the highest volume trauma center in the state and one of the best in the country. The new facility will continue LDS Hospital's sophisticated trauma research program which is helping to develop best practices for trauma care nationwide.