Our History
Appreciating the Past... Creating the Future of Orthopaedic Care
The first full-time orthopaedist at the University of Utah was Sherman S. Coleman, M.D., who in 1957 was given a joint appointment as head of the Division of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine and Chief Surgeon of the then newly opened Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children. The University of Utah School of Medicine's clinical faculty was based at the downtown County Hospital. Dr. Coleman founded the University of Utah Residency Program and functioned with a staff of volunteer orthopaedists from other hospitals in the city. In addition to the Shriners Hospital and the County Hospital, the Veteran's Administration Hospital was also associated with the program. In the early years, there were occasional full-time associates who were on faculty for a year or so. In 1967 the County Hospital closed, and the University of Utah Health Sciences Center opened on the main campus. Dr. Andrew Ruoff joined the division at that time with primary responsibilities at the Veteran's Administration Hospital. In 1969, Dr. Harold Dunn joined the division with primary responsibility at the University Hospital and secondary responsibilities at the Shriners Hospital. In 1970, at the suggestion of the Residency Review Committee for Orthopedic Surgery, the residency program of the University of Utah was merged with a long-standing private orthopaedic program based at the LDS and Primary Children's Hospital.
Moving Forward
In 1981, the University Hospital moved into an adjacent new and much larger building. At this juncture, Dr. Coleman elected to step down as division chairman, and Dr. Dunn succeeded him. New office space was allocated to the Orthopedic Division in the old University Hospital. The division elected to use half of its allocated office space to establish a bioengineering lab, and A. U. Daniels, Jr., Ph.D., became the first full-time research scientist in the division. This bioengineering lab has had residents and graduate students functioning in it continuously since its inception.
A New Direction
It became apparent in the late 1970s that Orthopaedics was sub specializing. The resident staff in their annual letter of evaluation requested subspecialty training, and the decision was made to focus efforts in this area. Dr. Coleman, by this time, was well established as a pediatric orthopaedist and as a musculoskeletal oncologist. Dr. Dunn was focused on scoliosis, spine trauma, and total joint replacement. Recruitment in other subspecialty areas was begun with Hand and Sports Medicine subspecialists initially recruited.
Breaking New Ground
In a desire to improve the facilities for patient care and research, a formal proposal was made to the leaders of University Health Sciences Center in 1991 to build a free-standing orthopaedic center.
Clinical demands for subspecialty care continued. Appointments were made for subspecialists in the areas of Traumatology and Foot Surgery. The Pediatric division continued to expand as did Spine. An outstanding faculty in all subspecialties was present by the late 1990s.
Ground was broken for the 105,000 square foot building June 6, 2003, and the building began operations with its first patients October 4, 2004. This is a state-of-the-art facility that streamlines patient care and facilitates clinical research .
