New health corridor seeks public guidance
Coeur d’Alene’s urban renewal agency, ignite cda, is getting early input and ideas from the community as they nurture the infancy of a new health corridor.
“I’m a big proponent of making sure we had strong community involvement with this project,” ignite Board Commissioner Jim Chapkis said. “I was adamant that we have input and help from the community all the way through the process, particularly at the beginning.”
The beginning of the process will include a Health Corridor Master Plan Visioning workshop at 5;30 p.m. on Thursday, June 13. The public is welcome to attend the workshop, which will be held in the Coeur d’Alene School District’s midtown meeting room, 1505 N. Fifth St.
“This is a major expansion of Kootenai Health and the health care community in Coeur d’Alene, and we need to hear from every voice in our community on how this will look. [The community is] going to be living and breathing it every single day.”
The three-hour workshop will include a “SWOT” analysis — determining the project’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats — before using mapping exercises to better identify opportunities within the study area itself. The workshop will also transition audiences to the project’s next steps.
In a statement, Derek Miller, executive director of Facility and Property Services for Kootenai Health, said early community involvement can prevent future problems through insight and preparation.
“Community input at the workship will help shape the vision for health care in our community moving forward,” Miller said. “Knowing the wants and needs of our residents helps us better plan for future growth.”
Tony Berns, executive director of ignite cda, agreed.
“So often in the process,” Berns said, “we see instances where the community will see things that can really save the day. Their involvement is critical because, so often, the community’s insights can find potential challenges and opportunities that planners could otherwise miss.”
The health corridor’s visioning workshop will help steer the 175-acre development, with Kootenai Health as its focal point, toward what organizers hope will result in a more customer-focused and patient-friendly layout.
Stephanie Borders, a consultant working on the corridor project, said those unable to attend the workshop can still contribute.
“We know [attending for three hours is] a big lift for people,” Borders said. “For those who can’t commit to the full time, we will have background information and comment forms available.”
The public will also be invited to a three-day design workshop in July. Details of the design workshop will be announced at the end of the visioning workshop. Berns said these brainstorming sessions will ultimately lead to a proposal for a new district, which ignite cda looks to deliver to the City Council in the fall.