The West Valley Mentorship Program has been vital in shaping a new community hospital by connecting University of Utah Health leaders with local residents. Focused on collaboration and shared experiences, the program ensures that community voices drive decisions about health care access and local needs. It’s a model for building inclusive, community-centered health care solutions.
Over the last year, the inaugural West Valley Mentorship Program, a partnership between University of Utah Health leadership and West Valley community leaders, has been transformative. This program has been instrumental in developing and planning the new community hospital and health center in West Valley. Its primary goal is to bridge the gap between health care providers and residents. By prioritizing mutual learning, collaboration, and understanding, the mentorship program ensures that the community's needs and concerns remain at the forefront of the decision-making process.
The program has successfully fostered relationships between hospital leadership and local community leaders, deepening the understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities within the West Valley community. Through mentoring sessions and personal conversations, these partnerships have reinforced the University of Utah's commitment to building a hospital that addresses the health care, economic, and social needs of the community.
Why the West Valley Mentorship Program Matters
“For the first time, we are building a hospital in the neighborhood,” says Dan Lundergan, CEO of University of Utah Health Hospitals & Clinics.“The main question was: what are the needs of the community? For me, this was a new way to approach care delivery—an inpatient site in a community, off-campus.”
Understanding the specific needs of West Valley required an innovative approach that extended beyond the hospital's walls. Lundergan stressed the importance of prioritizing addressing health care access, food insecurity, and educational gaps. The structure of the mentorship program enabled deeper and more personal engagement, laying the groundwork for continuous involvement, with hospital leaders directly heeding community voices.
“Our first meetings were about sharing our lived experiences, which was powerful,” Lundergan explains. “I connected with Freda, a West Valley community leader who is very family-oriented and passionate about having access to health care. Hearing everyone's stories highlighted our connections despite our differences.”
A Two-Way Learning Experience
The mentorship program flipped the traditional mentor-mentee roles. For many health care leaders, it became an opportunity to be the mentee—learning from community members intimately familiar with West Valley residents' issues and goals.
“I wouldn't even say it was mentoring,”" shared Brianda, an education navigator in West Valley, who mentored Gina Hawley, Chief Operating Officer at University of Utah Health Hospitals & Clinics. “It was a non-hierarchical relationship where we could speak openly. We had the opportunity to talk about perceptions of West Valley and health care access. This program allowed leaders to have real, open discussions about barriers to health care, which was so important.”
This dynamic allowed for a mutual exchange of knowledge and experience. Brianda's mentorship with Hawley was an eye-opener for both, as they discussed the systemic challenges and inequities that persist in health care delivery.
Melissa, another West Valley mentor in the program, echoed this sentiment. “This program gave me the opportunity to work closely with health care leaders and share the cultural knowledge our community holds. We need to include community members in decisions about health care systems because we know what's needed. The mentorship program kept that accountability between leadership and the community—it's all about knowledge sharing and learning from each other.”
Building Trust Through Personal Stories
One of the mentorship program's most important aspects has been the power of storytelling. For Samoana, a community member who shared his experiences with Lundergan, navigating health care without insurance was a constant struggle. His family was often forced to make tough decisions between rent, food, and health care. Lundergan describes this conversation as “eye-opening,” reinforcing the need for trusted community advocates, like community health workers, who can help families navigate complex health care systems.
Melissa reflected on the significance of these personal exchanges: “It helped build my confidence and increased my engagement within the community. I never saw myself in leadership spaces, but this program changed that. I learned about the cultural influence that community members can offer, and I think the program made it clear that our voices are crucial.”
Addressing Community-Specific Challenges
As part of the program, health care leaders were able to better understand the unique challenges faced by West Valley residents, including language barriers, lack of insurance, and legal status. Brianda noted, “We talked about how to create health care access for people who don't have legal status or face language barriers. It's about more than just building a hospital, it's about creating access to care for everyone, regardless of their situation.”
Melissa also spoke about the project's economic impact: “The hospital will bring economic and job growth to the city. It will engage and potentially help retain some of the employees within the community. I work to connect community members to education, specifically health care pathways, and this hospital will help them see themselves working in the health care fields.”
The program also emphasized the importance of supporting individuals in gaining new skills. Brianda highlighted the value of providing educational opportunities for the local workforce: “We are structuring educational opportunities early on for the medical and health care workforce in the state. I had never seen a program like this when I was growing up in West Valley. It will spread the word about the value of community care and how the university is now invested in a different way.”
Lasting Impact and Looking Forward
For hospital leaders like Ischa Jensen, Associate Executive Director of System Planning, the mentorship experience was fruitful. “This experience has challenged the assumptions about how health care should be run. We often think we've gathered all the necessary input, but we need to actively seek out more diverse perspectives.”
Brianda's experience reflected similar sentiments: “One of the key things I took away is the importance of cross-collaboration when providing health access. We don't need just health leaders. We need state leaders, education leaders, and others to come together to make health care accessible.”
The mentorship program has become a foundational step in building relationships, creating open communication channels, and developing a health care system that truly serves West Valley. Melissa summarized the program's impact: “I feel honored to be part of this project. We had important conversations about personal and professional growth and, most importantly, about the growth of our communities.”
The West Valley Mentorship Program is more than just a project—it's a movement reshaping the relationship between health care institutions and the communities they serve. As Jensen said, “This experience has challenged the assumptions about how health care should be run.” Leaders and community members alike are learning that health care solutions cannot be one-size-fits-all; they must be tailored to the unique needs of each community.
As the University of Utah prepares to open its new hospital in West Valley, the mentorship program has laid the groundwork for a more inclusive, accessible, and community-driven approach to health care. “There's a renewed sense of commitment to not just talk about what we need to do in West Valley but to follow through and get it done,” Lundergan concluded. The community is counting on it, and with this mentorship program, leaders are more prepared than ever to deliver on that promise.
The next cohort of the West Valley mentorship program will begin in January 2025.