By Kim Anderson When neurologist Matthew Womeldorff, M.D., began working at Kootenai Clinic Neurology last year, he didn’t face the usual questions about how to pronounce his name. Although it is one-of-a-kind, it’s a familiar name at Kootenai Health. A Coeur d’Alene High School graduate, Dr. Womeldorff’s family moved to Coeur d’Alene in the 1990s. His mother, Cindy Womeldorff, was a certified nursing assistant at the time and newly single. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it on $5.25 an hour, so I decided to go back to school at North Idaho College and become a registered nurse,” Cindy said. “In 2001, I went to work for Kootenai Health as part of the Nursing Resource Team. For the past 10 years, I’ve been a hospital supervisor. I’ve been at Kootenai Health for over 21 years now, and I love it.” A tailor-made opportunity Following undergraduate school at the University of Idaho, Dr. Womeldorff went on to medical school at the University of Utah and a residency and fellowship at the University of Rochester in New York. In his third year of residency, he and his wife and high-school sweetheart, Kayla (Leitzke) Womeldorff, who also grew up in Coeur d’Alene, started thinking about where they would like to settle down. They both liked the idea of living closer to family, and in a smaller community with four seasons, mountains and lakes. This became even more important when their son, Henry, was born. The opportunity to join Kootenai Health’s neurology program seemed tailor-made for them. As a neurologist, Dr. Womeldorff cares for patients with a wide variety of conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system. He specializes in clinical neurophysiology, which studies the bioelectrical activity in the nervous system and helps diagnose problems. “Matt is a hard worker. A thinker. He is kindhearted and compassionate,” Cindy said. “He first worked at Kootenai Health in the summers of 2008 and 2009 as an emergency department intern. When he first told me that he applied for the position, I thought he was either really going to like it or really going to hate it. He came home on his first day, and he was so excited because he got to help an older gentleman use a urinal. I knew then he was going to really like it!” A lifelong role model Growing up, Dr. Womeldorff was quietly paying attention to Cindy’s dedication and love for health care. “When Mom was in nursing school, I would read her textbooks,” he said. “It was how she approached her work that helped solidify my decision to go into health care. Even though she would come home tired, she always had a sense of passion, meaning and purpose in her work. Her gratitude for a career that allows her to do something meaningful was very inspiring.” Today, the mother and son enjoy working for the same organization, texting to ask about each other’s day, and occasionally getting lunch together at Kootenai Cafe, the hospital’s cafeteria. “I am so proud of Matt and his dedication and perseverance,” Cindy said. “I’d say he turned out OK! Who knows, maybe one day Henry will be part of the Kootenai Health family too.” Family Ties Mother and son have a new bond— working at Kootenai Health Matthew Womeldorff; his wife, Kayla; and their son, Henry INSET: Cindy Womeldorff, RN, with her son, Matthew Womeldorff, M.D. KH.ORG 9
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