Intermountain Health Cedar City Hospital — Local services in Cedar City

I never imagined I’d be writing something like this. But what happened to my daughter Brooklynn in the ER that night is something no parent should ever have to endure—and it’s time people hear the truth.

Brooklynn is just 12 years old. She’s fighting brain cancer with more strength and courage than most adults I know. I took her to the ER because she had been vomiting nonstop all day. I assumed it was dehydration—maybe she’d need fluids and nausea meds, and we’d be home that night.

When we arrived, the ER was nearly empty. I thought we’d be seen quickly.

But as we waited, more and more people came in—and they were taken back before us. I told myself not to worry, that maybe they had more urgent needs. But then…

Brooklynn started vomiting blood.

That moment shattered me. I ran to the front desk, heart racing, voice shaking. I told them what was happening. I expected urgency—compassion—anything.

But they barely looked up.

No rush. No alarm. I had to ask for another nausea bag while my daughter sat beside me, pale, shaking, and bleeding from her mouth.

And even after that—we waited. For over an hour.

Let that sink in.

A 12-year-old cancer patient vomiting blood in their waiting room—and they made her wait another hour before anyone did anything.

I couldn’t stay quiet anymore. I contacted her oncology team—four hours away. When I told them what was happening, they were immediately concerned. They said she needed to be stabilized right away, because her shunt could be dislodged. They said they would call the hospital directly—and they did.

And still... nothing. Another hour passed before anyone brought her back.

By the time she was finally seen, she was severely dehydrated. Her labs were completely off. She had to be admitted immediately.

That night, I sat in a hospital full of professionals and felt completely alone. I did everything I could—I stayed calm, I asked for help, I called her doctors, I pleaded. But the system failed her.

This wasn’t a busy ER. This wasn’t a case of “we’re doing our best.” This was a child in visible distress being ignored until it became dangerous.

Brooklynn deserved better. Every child does.

If you work in healthcare, please let this be a reminder: when a parent is scared, when a child is suffering—it matters. Treat them like it matters.

And to other parents—don’t stay silent. Don’t be afraid to raise your voice. You may have to be the one fighting hardest when your child is too sick to do it themselves.

Brooklynn is still fighting....

On June 10 we came to ER because my husband was experiencing stomach pain, when all was said and Done, they said you're just dehydrated go home. My husband told them Multiple times it was more but he was Disregarded and sent home, We now know it was his appendix and it had Already burst! So We Came back to the ER about midnight, ( If They Had Listened to him in the First Place they could have cought it before it got Worse)the first ER nurse that helped was a Robot, she didn't seem to hear anything I told her about taking care of my husband's chills or pain as they were admitting us. When the technician came in to take the imaging of his stomach the first thing I heard from her was; "I can't believe they buzzed me 15 times I've told them that if I don't answer after five calls I'm on my break. But they don't listen they kept bugging me." She complained out loud as she mechanically started asking my husband if he could walk to imaging, he was in pain and was about to listen to her but I told her no he can't walk, I was so scared she was going to hurt my husband when they took him back to do imaging. When I went to voice my concerns to the nurse that was in charge of everyone that evening in ER she disregarded my complaints and didn't seem to care. The only nurse that showed compassion professionalism and seemed to know what she was doing was Bree, Thank You! Bree. I was grateful to finally get admitted into the hospital with my husband where we finally met nurses with compassion,( Nichole our nurse and Techs; Brandee & Payton). We got a nice cramped room with all the amenities, but when we wanted to watch the news there was nothing but fox news, I Get that the news networks are Awful these days But for this Hospital to Only air Fox news is Disturbing! I've heard many times from other people that Cedar City is not the place to go for healthcare, and this experience has shown me why people go...

My mom has been to this hospital many times for severe hypertensive crisis and chest pains. There is never a wait so it’s nice to be seen quickly. The staff is kind, but the doctors are not very smart. My mother has never been treated for her high blood pressure, not once. We arrive, they take an EKG, sometimes a chest X-ray, and they take blood. They say everything looks clear and send us on our way home. This last time, my mother was having very high blood pressure combined with chest pains. I called 911 ahead of time to let them know we needed ambulance to meet us there upon arrival. This didn’t happen. All the same rounds of tests were performed and again… everything looks “clear”. The doctor diagnosed her with “pleural lung pains”. When we asked if her lungs showed any sign of pleurisy - the answer was no. No treatment was rendered. She was sent home with a pamphlet about pleurisy despite not having pleurisy. I am scared to death that my mother is going to pass away any day now from resistant hypertension. She is having blood pressure spikes all the way up to 248/114. Saint George hospital has even worse reviews than Cedar. Stay away from this hospital if you are in...