Gunnison Valley Hospital celebrated an important milestone on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, as employees, community members, local leaders, healthcare providers and hospital supporters gathered for the official groundbreaking of a major expansion and renovation project.
The comprehensive project will completely transform the patient experience by modernizing the hospital entrance, expanding the maternity wing, creating new inpatient rooms, and having a welcoming cafeteria and new kitchen.
Gunnison Valley Hospital has served our community since 1932 helping the community in life threatening situations, delivering babies, providing surgical procedures and recovering from illness and injuries. Generations of GVH employees have dedicated their careers to caring for their neighbors. The expansion is designed to ensure GVH can continue that tradition while providing patients, families and employees with modern spaces that meet the changing needs of healthcare.
"This groundbreaking represents a massive leap forward for Gunnison Valley Hospital and the communities we serve," said Brenda Bartholomew, CEO. "By replacing our 1970s inpatient rooms and kitchen, we are matching our physical facility to the high level of modern, compassionate care our staff provides every day. This project ensures we can meet the needs of our patient families for decades to come."
Key features of the expansion include:
- Modernizing Inpatient CareOne of the most significant components of the project will be an additional 10,933 sq ft finished space of the west side of the hospital, replacing inpatient rooms that have served the community since 1970.
This space will have 13 new, patient rooms designed around comfort, privacy, healing and family involvement in visiting the patient while they recover.
The updated space will also help GVH nurses, physicians and other caregivers provider better support to their patients.
"We have an incredible team providing compassionate, high-quality healthcare," Bartholomew said. "We want the environment they work in—and the environment our patients receive care in—to reflect that same level of quality."
- Expanding Care for Mothers and BabiesThe west wing expansion will also bring important additions to women's healthcare and maternity services.
Plans include a dedicated Cesarean Section Suite, new nursery, an additional Labor, Delivery and Recovery (LDR) room.
These improvements will allow GVH to strengthen its ability to care for mothers and babies locally, which for a rural hospital is especially important.
- Creating a New Main EntrancePatients and visitors will also see a major change to the front, north side of hospital. The new lobby’s admitting area will provide a more private atmosphere for patients to check in, and will be easier to find. Adjacent to the lobby will be the new cafeteria and kitchen. And the gift shop will remain, close to the lobby.
- A New Kitchen and CaféAs previously mentioned, the project will include the replacement of the hospital's original kitchen, which also dates back to 1970.
The new kitchen will provide a modern space to support patient nutrition and hospital food services. Alongside it will be a new GVH café, envisioned as more than a traditional hospital cafeteria.
"We want the café to be a gathering place where people feel welcome," Bartholomew said. "We would love to see employees sitting down together for lunch, families having a comfortable place to visit, and community members stopping in for a meal. We want our hospital to continue to feel connected to the community around us."
Investing in the People Behind the Care
While the groundbreaking focused attention on new construction, hospital leadership emphasized that the purpose of the project goes far beyond the building itself.
GVH employees are also members of the communities they serve. They are neighbors, friends, parents, coaches and volunteers, and many care for patients they know personally.
That connection is one of the things GVH hopes to preserve as the hospital grows.
"When I think about Gunnison Valley Hospital, I don't think first about our buildings—I think about our people," said Liz Brown, Director of Human Resources. "Our employees live here, raise their families here and care for people they know and love. They are the heart of this hospital."
GVH has made creating a positive workplace culture an organizational priority, and hospital leadership sees the expansion as another way to invest in employees as well as patients.
"We believe the way we care for our employees ultimately affects the way we care for our patients," Brown said. "We want our employees to have a workplace that reflects how much we value what they do."
Honoring the Past and Building for the FutureAs construction begins, GVH is looking toward the future while recognizing the history of the spaces being replaced.
The inpatient rooms have cared for generations of patients since 1970, while the original kitchen has supported patients, employees and families. Those spaces have been an important part of GVH's story.
The new expansion is intended to carry that story forward.
"There is something special about rural healthcare because there is a personal connection," Bartholomew said. "Our patients aren't just patients—they are our neighbors, our friends and sometimes our own family members. As we grow and modernize, we never want to lose that."
The groundbreaking marked the beginning of a new physical chapter for Gunnison Valley Hospital, but the purpose behind it remains the same: providing high-quality healthcare close to home and caring for the communities of Central Utah for generations to come.
Media Contact:
Kayla Hall
435-314-7927
