Prom Night Comes to Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, Allowing Teens with Cancer to Experience a Treasured High School Tradition

Teens receiving cancer treatment aren’t always well enough to go to their high school prom, so Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital caregivers brought a special prom night to them. 

Patients ages 15 and up were able to dress up in formal attire and dance the night away on Saturday night in the Eccles Outpatient Services Building at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, thanks to dedicated caregivers at the hospital who didn’t want the kid’s health challenges to disrupt a treasured high-school tradition: prom night. 

Cancer center caregivers converted conference rooms into a sparkling dance hall, complete with food, a DJ, photography and a photo booth, thanks to community generosity. They also arranged for patients to receive special salon services in their hospital rooms to help them look and feel their best for their special night. 

Patients ages 15 and older were joined by Primary Children’s doctors, nurses, child life specialists and other teams of caregivers, who did their best to keep up with the energetic crowd. 

“Cancer robs our patients of so many typical life experiences as they go through treatment, and our team knew that a prom, right here at Primary Children’s, would be a great opportunity to try to rectify that,” said Dan Mangelson, pediatric cancer services director at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital. “The night was so special for all of us.” 

Every day, Primary Children’s oncology experts treat 35 kids in inpatient areas and 60 more kids needing cancer-related outpatient visits. The nationally ranked cancer program includes the latest research and treatment for non-malignant blood disorders like sickle-cell anemia, as well as bone marrow transplants, gene-based therapies, and clinical trials. 

Starting in early 2024, cancer services will be extended to the second Primary Children’s Hospital campus under construction in Lehi – all made possible by Intermountain Health’s more than $600 million Primary Promise philanthropic campaign to create the nation’s model health system for children. 

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NOTE TO MEDIA: Video and images available upon request.