VALLEY VISIONING Healthcare Committee Healthcare now encompasses about one-fifth of the economy, making it a major concern as Utah Valley’s population grows by thousands each year. The Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Healthcare Committee aims to address that concern and help the healthcare industry prepare to meet the valley’s future needs. “A strong healthcare system is vital to our community and certainly our businesses,” said Healthcare Committee Chair and Utah Valley Hospital CEO Kyle Hansen. “I think as our business leaders look at growth and expansion, they consider what healthcare is like in our area and what that looks like for their employees who may be relocating.” The Healthcare Committee’s members are a mix of healthcare and business professionals, allowing both perspectives to be represented. As they have met, committee members have determined four priorities they will focus on as they move forward. “First and foremost, the prevailing challenge and topic with healthcare — and it’s not unique to our community — is affordability,” Hansen said. “Nobody thinks about healthcare and thinks wow, what an affordable industry healthcare is.” Hansen said the committee is focusing on increasing pricing transparency and making pricing easier for consumers to understand through the legislative process. Another plan is to work with the state to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. The committee’s second focus is mental health, an issue that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our state and our county have some of the highest rates of mental health issues, and we don’t have as many mental health providers as we need,” Hansen said. To help combat this problem, the committee helped present the Mental Health Services Awareness Summit on Aug. 19 at Utah Valley University. This event featured keynote speakers, breakout sessions and informational booths featuring various community service organizations. “The intent of this event was really to connect people with the resources that exist in our community and then arm them with more information,” Hansen said. Addressing the impact of the pandemic and the COVID-19 virus is the committee’s third priority. At first, the committee focused on helping the business community with issues like testing, but its efforts now center on education and access to the COVID-19 vaccine. “As a hospital administrator, with a full hospital right now, obviously I
22 • Utah Valley Chamber • www.thechamber.org
“Our committee focuses on providing necessary resources to the valley that will support physical health, mental health and emotional health. We continue to be active in promoting initiatives and events that focus on becoming the best you can be.” - Kyle Hansen Healthcare Committee Chair and CEO of Utah Valley Hospital
