Critics say taxpayer funds for nursing homes shouldn't be spent on new buildings

BEAVER, Utah — In this small rural community in central Utah, construction crews are hard at work on a brand-new Beaver Valley Hospital Wellness Center , with plans for a multi-purpose gym, exercise studios, a recreation pool and a lazy river.

Next door, the city-owned hospital recently received its own renovation, complete with improved operating rooms, specialty clinics and a dedicated helicopter pad. The city of around 3,500 people estimated in 2021 that the project would cost about $30 million.

Beaver Valley Hospital CEO Scott Langford expressed excitement for the remodel in a recent video , stating that it would help “provide better quality health care and state of the art health care to rural residents.”

“And that doesn’t happen very often,” he added.

Both the hospital up