LAYTON — Intermountain Layton Hospital will open a new ambulatory surgery center in August that will create 40 new jobs and lower patient costs.

The new state-of-the-art center will have four operating rooms where patients can have surgery and go home the same day.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, Dr. Michael Dee, a surgeon with Intermountain Health, said the goal of the center is to get patients taken care of in a high-quality setting, away from sick people staying in the hospital, and get them back home as soon as possible so they can recover more quickly.

“This center will put surgery patients in a place where there aren’t sick people,” Dee said. “If you’re having a knee replacement and you are put in a place where there are no sick people, that’s a no-brainer. This will allow us to do the surgery in the safest way possible.”

In addition, since the ambulatory surgery center is outside of a hospital setting and doesn’t require long stays, it keeps costs down, officials say.

“We’re excited about bringing this here. With ambulatory surgery centers, Medicare and community insurances as a whole pay about half of what they pay the hospitals to do the same exact thing,” said Michael Clark, executive leader for surgery centers at Intermountain Health. “So a big chunk of our revenue is already prepaid for the same service at a lower cost, and that benefits the patients, Intermountain Health and the community.”

Clark also said it’s well known that people heal better when they are close to home.

“Having this resource in Davis County helps ensure patients can be at home faster where they heal best,” he said. “I had a hip replacement done at an ambulatory surgery center and I was home by 3:30 in the afternoon. Five years ago, you used to be in the hospital for a day or two. This location means people won’t have to travel far to get the care they need.”

The center is one of three opening across the state this year and will be the 11th functioning in the state from Logan to St. George, Clark said.

“This really is a culmination of so much work,” said Kelly Duffin, president of Intermountain Health’s Canyon Region. “This center will provide surgeries in many different specialties. As we open this center, we are truly witnessing a continued growth in what Layton Hospital is able to do.”