Primary Children's Medical Center is more than a hospital; it is a symbol of the Salt Lake community's commitment to the physical and emotional well-being of children.
This weekend, the hospital, which primarily serves six states but has had patients from 43 states and seven foreign countries, celebrates its 75th birthday. It is also celebrating three-quarters of a century of improving the health of children individually and, through research and teaching, as a group.Primary Children's is one of only 45 children's hospitals in the nation, and Utahns are lucky to have it. In fact, most mountain states are lucky the hospital is here, since they have no hospitals of their own specializing in children's care.
The history of Primary Children's reflects the changes in attitudes toward medical treatment of the area's youngest and most vulnerable residents. It started out as a convalescent center, treating mostly chronic ailments, many of them crippling deformities or birth defects.
Back in the 1930s, the average length of stay was 158 days; today it's about 5.5 days. The children's hospital has the highest acuity level in the state, meaning it treats the most complex and severe medical problems.
But probably the aspect of Primary Children's Medical Center that is most worthy of celebrating is that children are not turned away if their parents can't pay for the expensive treatments they need.
And much of the reason that's possible is the level of community financial support the hospital receives. Sixty percent of the cost of helping financially strapped families is paid by donors to the hospital's foundation and through community programs such as Pennies by the Inch, Festival of Trees, KSL television and radio telethons.
That fact is becoming more important in view of recent statistics showing that half of chronically poor Americans are children. That number is increasing, with youngsters replacing seniors as the most poor segment of the population nationwide.
The hospital's partnership with the University of Utah Department of Pediatrics has made possible many additional medical specialties and the most advanced treatments available.
Residents of the Intermountain area should help the hospital celebrate its long life and fervently wish it many more years of service in the future.