Kootenai Health receives $45K grant

Recognizing Kootenai County's growing need for quality, local health services, the Avista Foundation awarded Kootenai Health a $45,000 grant for the medical center's expansion.

Kootenai Health will receive $15,000 per year for the next three years.

"Kootenai's greatest desire is to provide access to the highest levels of health care for patients, close to home," said Shawn Bassham, president of Kootenai Health Foundation. "With this capital campaign, we'll be able to offer services like a family birth center with a dedicated neonatal intensive care unit right here in our residents' home town. We greatly appreciate Avista's commitment to Kootenai County, and the health and well-being of its citizens."

Patty Shea, Avista regional business manager for North Idaho, said her company knows a key component of a healthy community is a sufficient quantity of quality health care services to meet the needs of all citizens.

"The capital campaign to fund the expansion of facilities and programs will set Kootenai Health well on its way to achieving its vision of becoming a comprehensive regional medical center by 2020. Avista is proud to be a partner in this endeavor," Shea said.

The Avista Foundation will make just one distribution of grants in 2015. During this round, grant awards totaled $81,500 for programs in human care services, education, and economic and community vitality in Avista Utilities' service territory in Washington, Idaho and Oregon, and in Juneau, Alaska, where Avista Corp. owns Alaska Electric Light and Power Company.

The only other 2015 grant winner in Kootenai County is Gizmo-cda, a nonprofit makerspace on Fourth Street in Coeur d'Alene. Avista awarded $1,500 to Gizmo for a community robotics lab.