Megan Johnson is the president and CEO of Intermountain Health’s Spanish Fork Hospital. Her career began two decades ago at Utah Valley University, where she balanced motherhood, work as a health unit coordinator, and a dream of advancing in healthcare.
On a quiet morning in Spanish Fork, Megan Johnson walks the halls of the facility she helped build. She knows the names of the nurses, the patients, the janitors. She knows the stories behind the faces. After all, this is her community; this is her hospital.
Johnson is the president and CEO of Intermountain Health’s Spanish Fork Hospital, a role she never imagined when she first stepped onto Utah Valley University’s campus two decades ago. Back then, she was a young mother working as a health unit coordinator, cleaning patient rooms and chasing a dream that felt just out of reach.
“I wasn’t a straight-A student,” Johnson shared on UVU’s Forever Wolverines podcast. “But I had heart. I had passion. And this was my path.”
In 2003, Johnson planned to apply to UVU’s extremely competitive nursing program, but she didn’t expect to get in. “There were a lot of applicants and a lot of broken hearts because they only took so many people,” she recalled.
One day at work, a nurse handed her a purple application, part of a unique rural nursing initiative in partnership with UVU and Heber Valley Hospital. That single act of kindness changed her life.
“I literally cried when I got my acceptance letter,” she recalled. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Johnson’s educational journey was long and demanding. She earned her associate’s degree, then a bachelor’s degree in nursing from UVU, and later a master’s in public health — all while raising two sons and working full-time.
Her career with Intermountain Health has spanned emergency rooms, education, and leadership roles. Each step brought new challenges and growth. But opening a hospital in her own backyard was the ultimate milestone.
Spanish Fork Hospital opened in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson, then Chief Nursing Officer, was the second hire on the project. She remembers how conflicted she felt about pulling staff from already overwhelmed hospitals to launch a new one.
“We were taking nurses from fully operational hospitals to open a brand-new one,” she said. “It was incredibly difficult. But it was also an amazing opportunity.”
For Johnson, the hospital is more than bricks and mortar, it’s about people. Her neighbors, friends, and family are the ones she serves every day.
“This role has been game-changing,” she explained. “Every day, I go out and I am serving my community.”
Many of the caregivers under Johnson’s purview are UVU graduates. The hospital is staffed with employees who grew up locally, studied locally, and now serve their own community.
This reflects a broader truth: Over 75% of UVU graduates stay in Utah, filling critical roles in healthcare and public service. UVU’s College of Health and Public Service trains nurses, EMTs, public health professionals, firefighters, and police officers. They represent the backbone of Utah’s health and safety workforce.
“UVU gave me the foundation to succeed,” Johnson said. “But more than that, it gave me relationships — with professors, mentors, and peers — that have lasted my entire career.”
Despite her title, Johnson admits to sometimes feeling imposter syndrome. But she grounds herself in her “why.”
“Why do I show up every day? Why do I do what I do? That ‘why’ is what keeps me going.”
Her leadership philosophy is simple: humility, service, and listening. She believes in assuming good intent, in listening deeply, and in never saying “that’s not my job.”
“If I see a spill on the floor, I clean it up,” she said. “We’re all working together. Every job is important.”
Johnson describes herself as an introvert, but her role demands extroversion: community meetings, public health collaborations, and constant listening. Through it all, she remembers the coworkers who listened to her and helped her see her worth.
“Most people just want to be heard, to know that their story matters.” She continued, “Every single person has a story, and when you really listen, you can learn so much.”
Click here to hear the full episode from the Forever Wolverines podcast.
Megan Johnson, 2025
Megan Johnson poses in front of the Intermountain Health sign before it is installed at the Spanish Fork Hospital
