Intermountain Park City Hospital is preparing to open a new cancer center in August as part of a larger expansion of emergency, surgery, and imaging services on the Wasatch Back. Photo: TownLift // Rayne Moynahan

Intermountain officials told Summit County Council the nonprofit hospital’s community benefit far exceeds its property tax liability.

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — Intermountain Park City Hospital is preparing to open a new cancer center in August, part of the largest expansion since the hospital opened and a major step toward keeping more specialty care on the Wasatch Back.

Hospital leaders presented the update to the Summit County Council on Wednesday as part of the hospital’s annual charity plan report, which nonprofit hospitals are required to provide to local officials.

Lori Weston, president of Intermountain Park City Hospital, said the new cancer center is scheduled to open Aug. 20. The hospital is also expanding emergency, surgery, and imaging services, with that portion of the project expected later this year.

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“This is the biggest expansion since we opened the hospital,” Weston told the council.

The cancer center will offer medical and radiation oncology services, with a linear accelerator for radiation treatment. Weston said the center is expected to meet about 90% of local cancer care needs on the Wasatch Back, reducing the need for patients to travel to Salt Lake City for many treatments.

The hospital will not treat all cancers locally. Weston said brain cancers, lung cancers, some specialty surgeries, and transfusion services will still need to be referred to other facilities. But common local needs, including prostate cancer, breast cancer, dermatology-related cancers, and thyroid cancers, are expected to be served at the Park City campus when appropriate.

Council Chair Roger Armstrong said the expansion marks a significant change for a community that once had no hospital of its own.

“You don’t have to go that far back to remember when we didn’t have a hospital in this community at all,” Armstrong said. “For a community of this size to have the quality of care, the scope of care that this hospital provides, and now a cancer center, is kind of mind-boggling.”

The hospital’s west-side expansion will also add emergency and surgical capacity. Amy Tuddenham, marketing and communications manager for Intermountain Park City Hospital, said the emergency department is currently limited in its trauma space and that the expansion will add four trauma rooms, as well as expanded surgery and endoscopy space.

The presentation came as hospital officials reported that Park City Hospital’s community benefit exceeds the property taxes it would owe if it were not tax-exempt. Weston said the hospital’s estimated property tax liability would be a little more than $600,000, while charity care for Summit County alone exceeded $5 million. Total community benefit was reported at more than $52 million.

The hospital’s 2025 statistics handout listed $7.8 million in total charity care, up from $6.3 million in 2024. It also reported 14,511 emergency room visits, 371 births, 7,392 surgeries and procedures, 39,202 imaging procedures, and 458 employees in 2025.

Weston said Intermountain also provides support to more than two dozen nonprofit partners in Summit County, including People’s Health Clinic, the area’s largest safety-net clinic. She said the hospital provides more than $2 million in vouchers for People’s Health Clinic patients to access imaging, labs, and other services.

Through the first quarter of the year, Weston said the hospital had already provided about $561,000 in imaging and lab visits through the partnership, serving about 663 patients.

“People’s Health Clinic is the largest safety net for our patients in the community,” Weston said.

Without the clinic, she said, more uninsured or undocumented patients would likely delay care until they were critically ill and arrive through the emergency department, increasing both health risks and costs.

Council Member Chris Robinson asked whether the $2 million in support was a firm cap. Weston said the amount is reviewed each year based on need.

“It’s based on the need,” Weston said.

Hospital officials also highlighted a new workforce housing pilot for Intermountain caregivers. Weston said the hospital has master-leased units at Studio Crossing and Yarrow House and plans to subsidize rents for lower-income caregivers earning 50% or less of the area median income.

She said the program is aimed especially at technical and lower-wage positions that are difficult to recruit and retain in Park City’s housing market.

“A $20-an-hour caregiver cannot afford a studio apartment,” Weston said.

Council Member Megan McKenna asked whether housing has affected recruitment and retention. Weston said it has, and that the housing pilot is one of the strategies the hospital is using to support its workforce.

Intermountain officials said the Park City hospital has nearly 500 caregivers, 37 licensed beds, 18 medical specialties, and 196 local providers. The hospital’s 2025 handout identifies it as a Level IV Trauma Center and says it is fully accredited by The Joint Commission.

Tuddenham said the hospital is also working with schools, nonprofits, and community partners to better understand social drivers of health, including mental health, chronic disease, access to care, and other factors that affect whether residents can stay well before they need hospital services.

“A large part of my job this year will be visiting with superintendents and principals and the Christian Center of Park City, and finding out what you guys are working on, and where we can show up and partner,” Tuddenham said.

Council members thanked hospital officials for the update and praised the expansion of local care, especially the cancer center.

“When you’re going through those situations, it’s hard to have to make that commute,” Council Member Tonja Hanson said of cancer care travel to Salt Lake City. “This is very, very exciting.”