Janice Peterson

March 30 is National Doctor's Day, and hospitals around the county are gearing up to celebrate.

Janet Frank, spokeswoman for Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, said all three Intermountain Healthcare hospitals in Utah County are decorated to let doctors and visitors know it is the hospitals' time to honor the doctors.

"This year we are putting up banners in all three of our hospitals to honor our physicians," she said.

At UVRMC, Frank said the hospital has also chosen to honor its physicians who have retired. There was no consistent way to honor these doctors before, she said, and staff recommended a wall display. Work will continue on the display throughout the weekend, and it will be unveiled Tuesday.

Frank said the hospitals honor their physicians every year as close to the national holiday as possible. This year hospitals chose either Friday or Monday.

Brenda Lovell, chairwoman of the Utah County Medical Alliance, said the group has chosen to honor doctors throughout the month.

Dr. Howard Reichman was named Doctor of the Year for Utah County, and children across the state were invited to submit essays about why doctors are great. Lovell said some second-grade classes even drew pictures to send to hospitals to celebrate the holiday.

Frank said that along with celebrations at the hospitals, managers were asked to consistently recognize doctors and their staff for their hard work. People that devote so much time to others deserve to be recognized, she said.

"A lot of doctors are very humble, and they are in the profession because that's what they like to do, is help people," she said.