Population Health at the University of Utah
The Office of Population Health at the University of Utah is reimagining health care across the state, region, and nation. Health is complex and goes beyond the physical—including behavioral, social, financial, and legal. We believe health systems play a unique role in addressing all drivers of health. Through partnerships with community organizations, the State of Utah, and other health systems, we work to develop sustainable solutions to improve outcomes while reducing the cost of care.
Our Mission & Vision
Our mission is to improve health outcomes for defined populations with sustainable interventions developed through health system and community partnerships.
Health has no boundaries. Our vision aligns perspectives, resources, and actions to create a seamless system that ensures achievable health for all.
Our Values
- Openness - Welcome new and varied perspectives to drive better change.
- Transparency - Democratize data, evaluate failures, and share individual & team successes to encourage collective learning, innovation, and psychological safety.
- Equal Opportunity - Commit to fairness, integrity, and respect in every interaction - striving to remove the systemic barriers that impede equal opportunity.
- Humility - Understand our profound responsibility to be continuous learners - educating ourselves and others about barriers driving poor health outcomes and making potential solutions worthwhile but imperfect.
- Do Good - Act with charity, mercy, and kindness - leveraging intellectual and physical resources and influence for the benefit of all—particularly the marginalized.
- Courage - Be bold, take risks, dare to lead out, and have resolve in the face of change opposition.
- Alignment - Assemble, embrace, elevate, and empower the many voices and skillsets needed to solve complicated health issues.
- Continuous Improvement - Relentlessly strive to make good better. Innovate the ordinary to be extraordinary and find ways to improve health and health systems.
Our Philosophy
We believe health systems will be held accountable for improved outcomes.
While our health systems are complicated, they work for many patients. For some, however, it can be difficult. With current financial models largely prioritizing volume, systems aren't always incentivized to be accountable for improved health. The Office of Population Health builds financially sustainable models that align incentives to value, oriented around the quadruple aim: better outcomes, better patient experience, better provider experience, and lower cost.
To redesign incentives, we must also redesign structures. The Office of Population Health leverages internal partnerships to reimagine care delivery in order to improve health outcomes and reduce the cost of care. This prepares the University of Utah for market shifts toward value-based care.
Meet Our Leaders
Peter Weir | Chief Population Health Officer
Peter Weir, MD, MPH, received his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2000, followed by subsequent training and residency at the U of U School of Medicine in Family Medicine. Since then, he has served as a clinician and educator in the Departments of Pediatrics, Family & Preventive Medicine, and Population Health Sciences. As a leader, he has served as medical director of the ARUP Family Health Clinic, medical director of the University of Utah Physician Assistant program, and most recently as the executive medical director of the Population Health Program.
“I look forward to promoting, building, and supporting population health programs for the entire health system and community in this leadership position,” Weir says. “My goal is to help move our health system toward creating compassionate and financially sustainable delivery models that address unmet needs and improve the health of our patients.”
Steven Hayworth | Director of Population Health
Steven Hayworth, MPH, is the Director of Population Health at University of Utah Health. While pursuing his Masters in Public Health at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, Hayworth interned at BJC HealthCare's Center for Clinical Excellence. There he discovered his passion for health system science, community impact, and healthcare innovation - leveraging public health principles in the healthcare industry. After graduating in 2017, Hayworth joined the University of Utah Medical Group as the inaugural Administrative Fellow.
After the fellowship, Hayworth joined the Medical Group Analytics Team – advancing health system data science and institutional clinical data reporting & innovation – before leading the University of Utah Department of Internal Medicine’s Central Analytics Team. At the onset of the U.S. COVID-19 Pandemic, Hayworth became the Division Administrator for the University of Utah Division of Infectious Diseases – providing administrative leadership for the division’s clinical, educational, and research missions. Currently, Hayworth is the Director of Population Health at University of Utah Health and leads health system care innovations that identify health disparities, address unmet needs, develop financially sustainable models, and ensure impact and health improvement through rigorous outcomes measurement and analysis. Current initiatives include advancing Home-Based Care, establishing the University of Utah Population Health Center, and developing employee population health programs for evaluation, scaling, and translation.
Since moving to Utah, Hayworth has developed a love for the great outdoors – from hiking along the Wasatch Mountain Range, to skiing across the Mountain West, to canyoneering in Southern Utah’s deserts, to camping in Grand Teton National Park, and everything in between.
