This article was written and published by KUTV News. To view the original article, please click here: Former Lung Patient Plays the Trumpet at Sugar House Health Center Opening
KUTV — The new University of Utah Sugar House Health Center opened Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that featured a former patient.
George Brown had health issues that kept him from being able to breathe, which was problematic since he is a professional trumpet player.
Brown suffered from a rare condition called chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). CTEPH is a form of pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure, affecting the lungs. It is caused by blood clots.
Surgery was required to remove numerous tiny blood clots throughout Brown’s lungs last year. The painstaking surgery was performed at a unique facility, one of the few equipped to do the operation nationwide.
Brown’s specialized care was catered with special attention to every aspect of his health, something the new center is designed for with urgent care facilities, as well as an infusion, oncology, and radiation oncology providers from the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
The facility boasts five floors and more than 170,000-square feet of care space that greatly expands the University of Utah Health services above what was previously available in the old Sugar House Health Center.
Now patients in the Sugar House community and surrounding areas can find more of what they need close to home at 1280 E. Stringham Avenue (Off I-80 and 1300 East).
And for Brown, he can resume playing his trumpet in his quintet well-known in Sundance, Park City, and other venues throughout Salt Lake City.