Eric Packer, CEO of Intermountain Health’s Cedar City Hospital, was recently awarded the Distinguished Healthcare Executive Award by the Utah Hospital Association. The award, presented during the Association’s Fall Leadership Conference at The Homestead Resort and Golf Club in Midway, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to improving healthcare in the state of Utah.
During the course of his 30-plus years in healthcare administration, Packer has established himself as an exceptional leader. In his current role as President of Intermountain Health’s Cedar City Hospital, he has been a steady hand at the helm, leading the hospital through times of growth and change.
Cedar City Hospital is a full-service community hospital that routinely ranks as one of the top community hospitals in the country. The hospital offers the latest technology in telemedicine as well as a state-of-the-art cancer center and cutting-edge immunology and cancer genomic programs. These services are offered along with a robust surgical service program, a new imaging center, specialized wound care and diabetes clinic, along with its traditional hospital services.
Under Eric’s leadership, Cedar City Hospital has received several awards and accolades. The hospital attained accreditation from the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s Accreditation Program for Excellence.
Cedar City Hospital has been named a Top 20 Rural Community Hospital in the country for nine years in a row, something no other hospital has ever achieved. This year the hospital has also been named by PINC AI and Fortune as the #2 hospital in the Country for the small community hospital category and has been included in the “100 Great Community Hospitals” listing from Becker’s Hospital Review. Additionally, Cedar City Hospital has been honored as a “Top 100 Hospital” by IBM Watson Health.
Packer was raised in Fillmore and moved with his family to St. George when his father was named the assistant administrator at Dixie Regional Medical Center. He graduated from Dixie High School and then attended Southern Utah University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Packer earned his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix. Other accomplishments include obtaining a Health Facility Administrators License, completing the FEMA Healthcare Leadership Course and he completed a Fellowship with the GE Management Academy.
Packer started his career with Intermountain Health in 1989 in Burley, Idaho. His first administrative role was serving as the director of outpatient services for Evanston Regional Hospital in Wyoming. Since that time, he has been the administrator at several Utah facilities, including Garfield Memorial Hospital and Bear River Valley Hospital as well as Bear River Valley Care Center in Tremonton, where he served for 12 years before moving to Cedar City. Eric has served as Cedar City Hospital’s President and CEO since April 2016.
Eric is very committed to the Cedar City community and serves in several local organizations. He is a member of the Iron County Children’s Justice Center Board and the Southwest Technical College Board. He’s also served on the Southern Utah University College of Science and Engineering Board and the Utah TeleHealth Network Advisory Council. In 2020, he was the recipient of the Utah Department of Health’s Rural CEO of the Year Award.
Eric was also instrumental in working with the state of Utah to bring a mammography outreach program to rural Utah, serving Piute, Beaver, Garfield and Kane counties.
Eric is respected throughout Utah’s healthcare community for his leadership skills and his ability to view a situation from all aspects before voicing a decision. His compassionate leadership and critical thinking skills have contributed greatly to the operational and clinical success that Cedar City Hospital enjoys today.
UHA is a private, not-for-profit trade association representing Utah’s hospitals and health systems.
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