On Tuesday, a groundbreaking was held for a new 80,000-square foot primary and specialty care facility — dubbed the North Campus Medical Office Building — on Intermountain Health’s campus just to the north of McKay-Dee Hospital.

During a groundbreaking ceremony, Devin Reid, vice president of Intermountain Medical Group Canyons North Market, said the location near the site of the former David O. McKay Hospital is a special place for the new facility.

“Nearly 60 years ago, community and Intermountain health leaders gathered on this site to break ground on a hospital that would shape healthcare here in northern Utah,” he said. “It became an important part of our McKay-Dee story, bringing exceptional care closer to home. Today, it’s fun to come and return to this historic site to turn the soil once again.”

He said that while the new building will perform another function from he former hospital, one thing remains the same.

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner.

“This building will be a little bit different than that,” he said. “As our community has grown, healthcare has changed a little bit.

But really, the purpose has remained the same, and that’s to continue to bring care closer to home for our patients that we serve — and ultimately really helping people continue to live the healthiest lives possible.”

McKay-Dee Hospital President Judy Williamson told the Standard-Examiner that the new facility has been about five years in planning.

“This is a new medical office building that will house some of our specialties in the community,” she said. “These are providers that are going to be relocating and expanding. They’re moving from our main hospital campus over here. And part of the strategy of this building is access — these are primary care medical, specialty clinics that moves patients over here where we have a little bit better access for them to come in and go from this campus.”

Reid told the Standard-Examiner that seven clinics will move from the McKay-Dee Hospital main campus to the new facility.

“We’re busting at the seams at McKay-Dee for space, and so this will allow us to have more providers in each of our specialties, which will be great,” she said.

Additionally, Williamson said the project will also benefit McKay-Dee Hospital.

“This is also to help free up some space on our McKay-Dee Hospital campus for some of those surgical specialties that need to be on campus and are in the ORs and tied to inpatient at the hospital setting,” she said.

Reid said there are several expansions planned at McKay-Dee Hospital as the North Campus facility takes shape.

“We’re going to be able to add significant growth to existing specialties like cardiology, oncology, women’s health with OB-GYN, GYN only, do some minimally invasive GYN,” he said. “And then we’re also going to be able to add neurosurgery, continued growth in sub-specialized specialties with colorectal surgery, general surgery — a lot of plans, a lot of good growth for our specialties.”

He added that this will also allow McKay-Dee Hospital to offer urology and neurology services for the first time. Previously, patients had to go as far afield as Salt Lake City for these services.

“We’re excited for the access that it provides to the community, to our patients here, both here at McKay-Dee North as well as at McKay-Dee, so that patients who are traveling to get care elsewhere don’t have to do that,” he said. “They can stay here, receive exceptional care with our amazing providers and teams here.”

The new North Campus facility is anticipated to be completed in the spring of 2028. Williamson said once this transition is complete, the McKay-Dee Hospital’s main campus can prepare to expand services.