KOOTENAI HEALTH: Big aspirations are unreasonable

It is good that Jamie Smith, our new CEO of Kootenai Health, has big aspirations. Mr. Smith wants expanding services in neighboring areas to attract patients from outside the area. More importantly, he should be aspiring to our local communities that desperately need those services.

How can Kootenai Health, in good conscience, be thinking about expansion when Mr. Smith states there is already a shortage of physicians, nurses, lab techs, and radiology techs? He states, “We’re here to improve the health status of the entire community.”

Our local citizens are having to wait for 3 to 5 months in many cases for an appointment. Being in triage for three weeks just to get an appointment for three months later is not acceptable. Why hasn’t Kootenai Health hired the necessary workforce to deal with the influx of people moving here? Aspiring to expand to neighboring areas is putting our community at a lower priority.

Indeed Kootenai Health suffered losses in 2022 due to the termination of our local employees who elected not to get the “jab.” This left them so short-handed they had to hire traveling nurses/techs/doctors at up to four times the salary.

It is unfortunate that there are no longer any open board meetings where issues like these could be resolved. It appears Mr. Smith’s aspirations to expand are unreasonable at this time.  

A final note to the Magrane Physical Therapy and Aqua Therapy. Keep up the GREAT work.

JoANN LOKKEN

Coeur d’Alene