Salt Lake City— BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, this week announced it has agreed to become the first to collaborate with Intermountain Healthcare on a new program that is designed to help create jobs in Salt Lake City by providing a living wage, retirement options, comprehensive health benefits, and career development.  

As part of Intermountain’s Impact Hire program, BD has committed to recruitment efforts that target new hires from economically disadvantaged areas in the Salt Lake City area. BD has facilities in Sandy and Salt Lake City that employ more than 1,500 people across both locations. BD in Sandy is the world’s largest producer of peripheral IV catheters, which are the medical devices that help deliver IV fluids and medications to patients.  

“Many of us know the power of both the business and health care industries in Utah, but it is wonderful to see what can happen when they join together for the common good,” says Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.  “The ‘Impact Hire’ program created by Intermountain Healthcare will generate more than just new jobs,  it provides hope and prosperity to the underprivileged areas within our state. I commend BD for being  the first company in Utah to step up and show that they care not only for the patients they help serve but for the greater community as a whole.” 

Intermountain is a member of the Healthcare Anchor Network, which helps health systems leverage their resources more intentionally to build inclusive, local economies. The Impact Hire program was developed by Intermountain Healthcare with support from the Healthcare Anchor Network, and through this program Intermountain has committed to working with their strategic suppliers to hire individuals from disadvantaged areas to create economic opportunity for all. 

“By collaborating with our strategic supplier partners, Intermountain Healthcare can help extend our connection to the community beyond the walls of our facilities,” says Rob Allen, COO  of Intermountain Healthcare. “BD exemplifies the type of supplier that Intermountain strives to attract,  both with the essential products they provide, but also through their willingness and commitment to  help improve our collective community.” 

“Intermountain Healthcare is one of the best and largest integrated delivery networks in the country,  and we are very serious about our relationship and responsibility to provide critical medical devices that help Intermountain care for their patients,” says Tom Polen, chairman, CEO and president of BD. “We  are equally serious about our role in the communities in which we operate and share Intermountain’s  commitment to providing disadvantaged areas with equal opportunities to secure good jobs and helping  to establish rewarding careers.”  

This week’s announcement was made at the One Utah Summit, where business and government leaders from across Utah gathered to discuss Utah’s economic development trends and opportunities. Polen and Allen participated in a Life Sciences panel discussion, moderated by Gov. Cox, about innovation,  partnership, and how living through a pandemic has shaped the industry in Utah and across the country.