Davis Technical College recently hosted a “suture cutting” event to celebrate the official opening of its new Allied Health Building on its campus in Kaysville. Students from many programs housed in the new building will eventually become future caregivers of Intermountain Healthcare.
Layton Hospital nurse administrator Tiffany Bears, left, serves as a member of the Davis Technical College Foundation’s board of trustees. She and Layton Hospital administrator Judy Williamson, right, represented Intermountain in accepting Davis Tech’s Education Partner of the Year Award at an event hosted May 11 in the college’s new Allied Health Building in Kaysville.
Intermountain’s fingerprint is all over the new Allied Health Building, including in name as a major donor, and with naming rights for the college’s new state-of-the-industry practical nurse practice lab. But Intermountain’s partnership with Davis Tech stretches beyond the financial donations provided for the new building.
During the college’s annual Life Changer Awards event on May 11, Davis Technical College honored that partnership by naming Intermountain as its “Education Partner of the Year for 2020 and 2021.”
“The Education Partner of the Year Award is given to a community partner who’s made significant contributions to student success through advocacy and collaborative partnerships,” says Marcie Valdez, executive director of the Davis Technical College Foundation. “Davis Tech has always had a strong partnership with Intermountain Healthcare. They’ve truly been good partners in helping educate countless healthcare professionals over the past several decades.
“We’re grateful for the partnership we share and for their commitment to working with us to provide educational opportunities that lead to successful careers for students in the healthcare field. Many of which go on to work for Intermountain Healthcare. It’s fun to see that transition.”
According to Marcie, more than 300 of the 6,000 students that come through Davis Tech each year are provided hands-on educational opportunities at more than 30 Intermountain sites each year. She says many Intermountain caregivers support programs by serving on occupational advisory boards and as co-instructors, including the surgical tech, pharmacy, nursing, and even their culinary arts programs.
“You wouldn’t necessarily connect culinary arts to Intermountain,” Marcie says. “But many of our students go on to successful careers working in the healthcare industry.”
Other ways Intermountain has collaborated with Davis Tech over the past several years has included by supporting scholarships through attending the college’s annual golf tournament, by serving on the foundation’s board of directors, and continued donations supporting the college’s diversity in healthcare scholarship fund.
As the need for nurses in Utah increases by a projected 30% or more over the next decade, Marcie says Intermountain’s major gift of $100,000, which helped provide the community support needed to get legislative approval four years ago to get the new Allied Health Building built will continue to pay dividends many times over.
“That donation did not come easy, and we appreciate all the work and the effort that so many people put forth on our behalf,” Marcie says. “We hope you’ll see your investment in Davis Tech as an investment in our community. We look forward to continuing to grow this partnership to meet the healthcare needs of our community for many decades to come.”
“We’re so appreciative of our relationship with Davis Tech,” says Judy Williamson, Layton Hospital administrator. “They’re such a great partner in our community. We’re so grateful to be a part of providing such an amazing opportunity to this school and to be so closely aligned in training up such a vital part of our healthcare workforce for decades to come.”