LAYTON — Dr. Glen Morell said he hears frequently from patients that they would rather recover from surgery closer to home.

A new ambulatory surgery center Intermountain Healthcare is building in Layton will help that to be accomplished. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday.

The new center, located approximately 300 feet from Intermountain Layton Hospital, will specialize in surgical procedures not requiring overnight hospital stays, Morell said.

“Those kinds of surgeries can include orthopedic procedures such as carpal tunnel; scopes of a joint; hip and knee replacements; ear, nose and throat surgeries; tonsils; hernias; gallbladders; biopsies,” he said. “Any type of surgery where a patient can have the procedure and then go home will be performed there.”

Morrell is chief medical officer at Layton Hospital. He said the new center will be much more convenient and comfortable for patients in the community to be able to get home and into their own beds quicker.

“To be in a facility where you’re close to family and home is a real advantage,” he said.

Chief Executive Officer Scott Mortensen said the new 18,000-square-foot facility will also provide affordable care.

“The strategy came about a number of years ago in an attempt to do surgery in a less expensive way,” he said. “With this type of ambulatory surgery center, there is less overhead and less cost, so procedures can be done quicker and less expensive.”

The center should be completed in January 2024, Mortensen said. It will include four operating rooms, 23 pre-operating and post-operating bays, a central processing area for sterilizing equipment, administrative offices and a lobby. The cost of the project was not immediately available, but Mortensen said a budget has been set aside for the center.

“One operating room here in Layton serves about 1,200 (people) per year, so this will be a great addition to the existing four operating rooms we have at the hospital,” he said. “We also have plans in the design to add two more operating rooms. We are growing for the community and are listening to what they are telling us, and this is one where they say they would love this.”

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