Deseret Foundation Changes Its Name

SALT LAKE CITY – After 40 years of supporting healthcare research and education in the Salt Lake Valley, one of the state's most successful medical foundations is changing its name.

The Deseret Foundation, which has supported medical research and education at Intermountain Healthcare's Salt Lake Valley hospitals since 1970, has changed its name to the Intermountain Research & Medical Foundation to more accurately reflect its function and to differentiate it from its roots as the fundraising arm of LDS Hospital when the LDS Church owned it.

The mission of the Intermountain Research & Medical Foundation remains the same: to enhance the field of medicine by providing funding for medical research, education, equipment and facilities throughout the greater Salt Lake area.

“We aspire to improve the quality of healthcare throughout the world,” says J. Howard Van Boerum, chair of the Foundation. “And making sure our name is aligned with our mission only helps us to better help those in need.”

The Foundation was started in 1970 when a group of physicians who were dedicated to promoting medical research at LDS Hospital organized the Deseret Foundation. The foundation has continued to grow since then, now encompassing five Salt Lake Valley hospitals: Alta View Hospital in Sandy, Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Riverton Hospital and TOSH–The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Murray.

This past year, the Foundation provided more than a million dollars to support medical research and life-saving equipment for the five Salt Lake Valley hospitals they serve.

“We may be changing our name, but we aren’t changing our mission or our vision for raising funds for medical research and education,” says Van Boerum. “This is a great opportunity for our community, board members and others to help write a chapter in the history of the Foundation; it’s a great time to support such a worthy cause.”