March 21, 2003 — Ribbon-cutting ceremonies for University of Utah Hospital’s new George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Critical Care Pavilion will be held Friday, March 28, at 11 a.m.

The $42.5 million project, the hospital’s first expansion in more than 20 years, will substantially expand the University’s trauma services. A new Emergency Center, the William H. and Patricia W. Child Emergency Center, can accommodate 34,000 patients annually. The center has six ‘fast-track’ rooms for patients with less severe injuries and 21 rooms designed for acute care, including specialized rooms for burn care and obstetric care. The pavilion also will include 32 surgical intensive-care beds, a pre-admitting area, a post-anesthesia care unit, and 36 same-day surgery recovery suites.

Government and community leaders and University donors will join U of U officials, faculty, physicians, nurses, and staff for the celebration in front of the pavilion.

Program participants include U of U President Bernie Machen; A. Lorris Betz, M.D., Ph.D., University senior vice president for health sciences and dean of the medical school; Richard A. Fullmer, University Hospital executive director; and Lt. Gov. Olene Walker.

“This expansion of our critical care services has been needed for so long,” said hospital CEO Fullmer, noting the increasingly frequent occasions when University Hospital’s Emergency Department and surgical intensive care unit have been filled to capacity. “The Eccles Critical Care Pavilion is a life-saver, in every sense of the word, for the people of Utah and the region.”

The Eccles pavilion has been named in recognition of a $7 million gift to the project from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.

A $3 million gift from William H. Child, chief executive officer of R.C. Willey Home Furnishings, and his wife Patricia, has funded the pavilion’s William H. and Patricia W. Child Emergency Center.

Additional funding for the pavilion came from the release of a bond issue and donations by more than 2,000 U Hospital employees and many community members in campaigns organized by the U Hospital Foundation.

A community open house with tours of the pavilion will be held Saturday, March 29. The 9 a.m.-2 p.m. event will feature free health screenings, medical careers information, health activities including an ER teddy bear clinic, and prize giveaways.