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JONATHAN
LINTHICUM, M.D.
Orthopedic Surgeon,
Kootenai Clinic
Orthopedic Surgery
Tell us a little bit
about you and your
family.
My wife is a physical
therapist, though she
currently is working as a
full-time mother to our two
young daughters at home.
Why did you pick
your specialty?
My father is a high
school industrial arts
teacher. I grew up
spending quite a bit of
time in his woodshop
and knew I wanted to
work with my hands in
some way in my pro-
fession. As a pre-med
student in college, I had
the fortunate opportunity
to go on a mission trip to
the Dominican Republic
and assist in orthopedic
surgery there. I knew I
had found my calling.
What can patients
expect when they
show up for their first
appointment with you?
I enjoy listening to and
getting to know my pa-
tients. I feel that my job
is really to communicate
with patients so that they
can make the best deci-
sions for their health.
What are some of your
hobbies?
My wife and I enjoy hiking,
snowboarding, mountain
biking, aviation and
fishing. We also enjoy
serving on short-term
overseas mission trips.
What drew you to
Kootenai Health?
I went to college in the
Northwest and have
always hoped to return
to live here. My wife and
I have good friends and
family in this area. As
we began to investigate
opportunities in this
area, I was surprised
and pleased to dis-
cover Kootenai Health
is locally owned and
operated for the benefit
of the local community.
In the current health
care environment, it is
increasingly rare to find
communities that have
been able to retain local
control of their health
care services. After
meeting and talking with
the team at Kootenai
Health, I was impressed
with their vision and look
forward to serving in this
community.
MATT TAYLOR, M.D.
Cardiologist,
Heart Clinics Northwest
Tell us a little bit
about you and your
family.
I grew up in Utah, and
my wife, Suzi, is from
Colorado. We’ve been
married 19 years, and
over the course of train-
ing, working and training
again, we’ve lived in five
states and three coun-
tries. We have five kids,
ages 4 to 14; they all love
to play sports, ski and try
to get away with eating
nothing but candy.
Why did you pick
your specialty?
I did a full family
medicine residency and
practiced for five years as
a family physician, doing
a little bit of everything
from delivering babies to
emergency room work. I
always had a secret love
for cardiology and finally
got up the gumption to
go back to training in
2009. Electrophysiology
is a field that deals with
Northwest, and after
eight years of feeling like
a fish out of water in big
cities, I’m excited to
return to a smaller
community closer to the
size in which I grew up.
The first time we visited,
it immediately felt like
home to both of us.
Kootenai Health is just
the right size, I like the
feel of the community
medical system, and it
looks like a neurologist is
really needed in the area.
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MEE T
OUR NEW
PHY S I C I ANS
Continued from page 11
I really enjoy the
COMMUNICATION
I have with my
patients so I can
help them make
the best health
decisions.