Life Care Center celebrates two decades of quality care
<p>The Nine Pint Coggies provides enjoyable background music, Tuesday, at Life Care Center’s 20th anniversary.</p>
<p>Heather Kent, right, director of nursing at Life Care Center, gives a tour of one of the short-term rooms during Life Care Center’s 20th anniversary celebration on Tuesday. The center has 33 beds for short-term, post-acute-care rehabilitation patients and focuses on physical, occupational and speech therapy on an inpatient and outpatient basis.</p>
<p>Anne VanZandt, left, an employee at Life Care Center, holds a conversation with resident Barry Peterson during the Center's 20th anniversary celebration.</p>
<p>Kathryn Robison, 89, who has been playing the piano since age 10, plays music for the Life Care Center's 20th Anniversary Celebration.</p>
COEUR d’ALENE — When Heather Kent goes to work each day, her goal is to have a positive impact on the lives of those who call Life Care Center of Coeur d'Alene home.
"The reason I come back every day is to try to put a smile on their faces and to make their lives better every single day," said Kent, who works as Life Care Center's director of nursing. "Just by giving them a hug or asking how their night was, I know that it makes their day."
Life Care Center has provided long-term health care in Coeur d'Alene for 20 years, and Kent has had the joy of being there for eight of them.
"I started working as a brand new nurse and never thought I would fall in love with taking care of the elderly," she said. "I found my passion. I was very lucky."
Life Care Center of Coeur d'Alene is a 95-bed acute care facility with 62 beds for permanent residents and 33 for short-term, post-acute-care rehabilitation patients. It focuses on physical, occupational and speech therapy on an inpatient and outpatient basis. It provides a wide variety of services, from Alzheimer's care and amputee rehab to respiratory care and social services.
Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer said Life Care Center "is a good business that provides a really good service for our town." He said for a business to survive 20 years means it is doing its job well.
"It really means a lot when you know that you have a good facility that is going to take care of a loved one and they're going to make sure all their needs are met, and that's what they do," he said.
Widmyer, who gave a brief address at the center's 20th anniversary party Tuesday, also said Life Care Center is a great employer.
"They provide a lot of quality jobs for our community," he said. "And their employees get involved in the community, which is a positive thing."
Life Care Center of Coeur d'Alene was voted "best skilled nursing facility" in the North Idaho Business Journal three years in a row and is the only acute care facility of the five in Kootenai County to receive a five-star rating from Medicare. Kent credited part of the center's success to how well the staff members work together.
"We have a really close team," she said. "We have a lot of longevity so it really helps with always improving our standards and trying to make changes for the better with time as health care is always changing, so it really helps to have a well-established team."
She said she would also like to thank the community "for always knowing we're here for them."
"Whenever they need us, they can pick up the phone and call and we'll do whatever we can to help," she said.
Life Care Center of Coeur d'Alene is located at 500 W. Aqua Ave.
Info: 762-1122 or www.lifecarecenterofcoeurdalene.com