Gabriel Mayberry, UVU Marketing

The need for well-trained health professionals and locations for residents to find good medical and dental service is critical in Utah County.

To help with these medical needs, and more, the Utah County Commission has agreed to fund $10.5 million in health care projects using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

In 2021, Utah County Government was given federal funds for COVID recovery through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program, part of the American Rescue Plan Act. Utah County has sought to leverage these federal tax-payer funds carefully by partnering with local governments and agencies, community organizations and nonprofit entities to fund needed projects in the community.

The county received approximately $123 million to be used for several projects, according to Commissioner Tom Sakievich.

Utah County’s coronavirus relief plan included setting aside more than $10 million of ARPA funds for community grants.

Jay Drowns, UVU Marketing

Utah County followed a stringent request for proposal process, which included public outreach to community organizations. The RFP also included numerous criteria, such as serving vulnerable populations, financial verification of leveraging other funding sources for the project, and providing multigenerational benefits to Utah County residents. The following applicants are to be awarded funds:

• Brade’s Place — $2 million for the creation of a specialty hospital to support critically ill children and their families and an expansion of their in-home services for these children.
• Rocky Mountain University — $3 million for the creation of a medical clinic to both support low income families and train the next generation of medical professionals.
• Family Haven — $2 million to expand their unique support services of abuse prevention and therapy services to children and families through an additional facility in Utah County.
• Utah Valley University — $2 million for the creation of a school to train future generations of medical professionals in vocations most impacted by the COVID-19 virus and create a dental hygiene clinic for underserved communities.
• Mountainlands Family Health Center — $1.5 for the expansion of medical services to low income and at risk individuals.

UVU will use the funds to help renovate its newly acquired building in Lehi, at its Thanksgiving Point campus, creating additional space for health care programs and the dental hygiene community clinic, which offers low-cost services to the community. The clinic is based on UVU’s engaged learning model, where dental hygiene students learn by providing services.

Health care expansion has become a priority for the university due to the nationwide need for more health care professionals. According to Cheryl Hanewicz, dean of the College of Health and Public Service, pandemic-related health care resignations combined with the influx of new residents in Utah County have created a critical shortage of workers.

“Our college is committed to creating new health care programs and increasing student capacity in our existing programs,” Hanewicz said. “This grant will allow us to increase the number of students in our dental hygiene, paramedic, and police academy programs, and reduce space constraints in our nursing, respiratory therapy, and physician assistant programs.”

The funding also comes in response to the need for qualified workers at under-construction or recently opened Utah County hospitals.

Gabriel Mayberry, UVU Marketing

“UVU is focused on strong collaboration with industry and our community,” UVU President Astrid Tuminez said. “We are rapidly working to increase the number of health care professionals in Utah County, so receiving this funding is a tremendous win.”

Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, and outgoing founding president and CEO Dr. Richard Nielsen, is excited to learn of the money being granted to the school.

“Utah County Commission’s $3 million grant funding to Rocky Mountain University Foundation and Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions will allow the creation of a medical clinic to both support low-income and uninsured individuals and families and train the next generation of medical professionals,” Nielsen said. “This shovel ready project will provide a single convenient location that offers a broad variety of services to patients for one-stop health care. Amongst the services that will be offered include counseling, optometry, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy and occupational rehabilitation, electroneuromyographic testing, and physical therapy.”

Nielsen said the university is grateful for the Utah County Commission’s decision to establish a public-private partnership to elevate people’s quality of life, provide needed health-related services that are easily accessible through the use of public transportation and allow the unmet needs and demands for the health and wellbeing of Utah County residents — especially the underserved, at-risk and socioeconomically challenged populations.

The Utah County Attorney’s Civil Division will now create final agreements between the county and each entity and the Utah County Commission will vote on the final agreements in subsequent commission meetings.

Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

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