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Russell Blakeley,
M.D.,
cardiology, is joining Kootenai
Clinic from Knoxville, Tennessee.
He graduated from medical
school at the University of Texas
Health Science Center in San
Antonio and completed his
internal medicine residency, a
general cardiology fellowship and
an interventional cardiology
fellowship at Emory University in
Atlanta.
Q
Tell us a bit about
your family.
My wife, Julie, was a critical care
nurse who graduated from Texas
Christian University in Fort
Worth. After raising our daugh-
ters, she has spent her time
involved with church and commu-
nity work, particularly Court
Appointed Special Advocates,
which assists children in difficult
family situations. We have two
grown daughters and a grand-
daughter. Our oldest daughter
and her husband and daughter
live in Dallas, where she works in
education policy with The New
Teacher Project. Our youngest is a
National Park Service backcountry
ranger in Alaska.
Q
Why did you pick
your specialty?
My undergraduate work was in
electrical engineering, and the
mechanical and electrical activity
of the heart always fascinated
me. I chose to practice medicine
rather than engineering, because
I enjoyed helping people much
more than fixing circuit boards.
Q
What can patients
expect when they
show up for their first
appointment with you?
They can expect me to work
hard getting to know as much
as I can about them. We will
establish their medical history,
and then work on understanding
the problem that brings them in.
This will mean answering lots of
questions.
Q
What are some
of your hobbies?
My wife and I enjoy the outdoors,
particularly skiing, kayaking, hiking
and biking. I volunteered as a ski
patroller in the mountains of western
North Carolina for a number of years
before coming to Idaho. Photography
is another personal interest.
Q
What drew you to
Kootenai Health?
Julie and I are moving here from
Knoxville, where I practiced medi-
cine for many years after completing
my postdoctoral training at Emory.
Although we lived in the East, our
upbringing in Texas marked us as
Westerners at heart, and we dreamed
of returning to the West someday.
In Knoxville, where I practiced
medicine for many years, I worked
with a large group of great cardiolo-
gists, but our hospital system began
to struggle financially, and recently
it came under the ownership of a
for-profit corporation. I could find no
peace with that business model and
began to look for another opportu-
nity. Heart Clinics Northwest here
at Kootenai Health has two Emory-
trained cardiologists. Our paths
crossed at a cardiology meeting,
and here I am. These are challeng-
ing days in health care across the
country, and it is exciting to see
a growing, innovative health care
system that is healthy itself.
AWesterner
Follows His Heart
Q& A W I T H NEW C A RD I O L OG I S T
RUS S E L L B L A K E L E Y, M . D .
KH . ORG
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NEW FACES