The next chapter in one family’s long relationship with the University of Utah will help health care officials open a much-needed new hospital in West Valley City.
The Eccles family donated $75 million through its foundation to aid the construction of the planned west-side hospital and medical campus surrounding it, the university announced this week. The project, slated for 3750 S. 5600 West, would feature the university’s first off-campus hospital and its largest clinic offering multiple services.
Leaders hope the campus will cut down on persistent health disparities and drive times for residents who live on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley.
“As a family and as a foundation,” said Spencer F. Eccles, the former banking executive, “we are so thrilled about this project because this community — right here in our Salt Lake Valley — has not had access to the kind of world-class medical care that they deserve.”
University officials plan to break ground on the campus this summer, with some doctors’ visits starting in 2028 and hospital beds opening in 2029.
![(Photo courtesy of Valerie Hamaker via Religion News Service) Nathan and Valerie Hamaker, co-hosts of the popular “Latter Day Struggles” podcast, have resigned their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a livestream Wednesday, Valerie explained that "as paradoxical as it may seem, it's because we care about this [faith] tradition that we are opening our mouths.”](https://www.sltrib.com/resizer/v2/7O7343CT2BDQDHODE2UJCSGVYI.jpg?auth=f79527b0639685af42e3f3ba6105184c4784821d8f85033e9be34ea500cbd3b9&width=111&quality=88)
