By Caiti Bobbitt Like the rhythm of a heart, the Kootenai Health Heart Center beats steadily with activity, day in and day out. From procedures and surgeries to rehabilitation and outpatient visits, a full spectrum of services is provided across nine in-state locations by a top-tier, regionally renowned cardiac care team. As a community-owned hospital, Kootenai Health takes its responsibility to meet the health care needs of its community seriously. As more and more people choose to call northern Idaho home, Kootenai Health knows the importance of expanding ahead of the population. While demand for all service lines seems to be growing at an expedited rate, cardiac care is in especially high demand. In September 2021, Kootenai Health broke ground to expand the Kootenai Health Heart Center, main operating rooms and Kootenai outpatient surgery. The expansion will encompass 41,000 square feet and include a three-story addition to the existing building. The second floor of the expansion will house the pre- and post-procedural patient care and diagnostic support space, including nine new patient rooms, a second cardiac catheterization lab, a second electrophysiology lab for heart rhythm disorders and the addition of two new operating rooms, for a total of 13. The expansion will allow Kootenai Health to serve an ever-growing patient population while providing top-of-the-line care with the latest cardiovascular equipment. “As community health care needs grow across the region, Kootenai Health needs to keep pace in our surgical and heart center capacity,” said Jeremy Evans, chief operating officer of Kootenai Health. It will also enable Kootenai to offer more complex, higher acuity services and quicker access to its operating rooms. All of this is key to also completing the work that is underway for Kootenai Health to seek official designation as a Level II Trauma Center. Currently, Kootenai Health is designated as a Level III Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons. This designation means the hospital has demonstrated its ability to provide prompt assessment, resuscitation, surgery, intensive care and stabilization of injured patients and emergency operations. Expanding the Heart Center will enable Kootenai to offer more complex, higher acuity services and quicker access to its operating rooms. In doing so, Kootenai will take the first of many strategic steps to position the hospital as a national leader in cardiovascular care. Take it to heart Learn more about cardiovascular services at KH.org/ heart-services. Have a passion for supporting cardiovascular care in our community? Contact the Kootenai Health Foundation at (208) 625-4438 or visit kootenaihealthfoundation.org. The Heart of Health Care Kootenai Health expands its Heart Center KH . ORG 17
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