IDAHO FALLS – Idaho Falls Community Hospital hit 365 days of service to the community. During its first year of operations, the hospital built a team of 462 caring individuals, proudly treated more than 10,000 patients and navigated a global health pandemic.
“We are so grateful to everyone who has trusted us with their care over the past year,” said Casey Jackman, COO of Idaho Falls Community Hospital. “We opened Idaho Falls Community Hospital because we wanted to give our community another choice for emergency and acute care. Over the last 12 months, we helped families deal with middle of the night health scares, set broken bones and recover from more serious illnesses. We have successfully given our friends and neighbors another choice for their care and, as we look ahead to 2021, we are excited to expand our services and provide our community with more cutting-edge treatment options.”
Idaho Falls Community Hospital was designed to treat almost all of the community’s healthcare needs. It has a 24-hour emergency department, comprehensive in-patient services, a 16-bed intensive care unit, three operating rooms and an interventional cardiac imaging center. Over the past year, the hospital has participated in seven clinical trials, maintained a less than five-minute wait time in the emergency department, started a Therapeutic Plasma Exchange clinic, performed neuro, vascular and thoracic surgeries and provided in-patient nephrology and oncology services.
“My son was treated for an emergency appendectomy and from the time we walked in the doors to the time we were discharged we were treated very well,” said Rebecca Stufflebeam Dial. “Everyone was very professional and showed concern and compassion with my son. I was very impressed!”
After being open for only three months, Idaho Falls Community Hospital was faced with the COVID-19 healthcare crisis. The team was ready and immediately stepped into action to test and treat community members. To date, the hospital has treated hundreds of coronavirus patients. The two infectious disease doctors at Idaho Falls Community Hospital have worked hard to be able to provide residents in Southeastern Idaho with some of the most cutting-edge treatment options available including convalescent plasma and an outpatient antibody treatment designed to reduce hospitalizations.
”Looking at the health care needs in our region over the past year, Idaho Falls Community Hospital came at the right time,” said Dr. Miller, Director of Idaho Falls Community Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. “Our care team of doctors, nurses, therapists and ancillary staff have worked hard to fulfill our mission of providing each patient with technically excellent, compassionate and personalized care. What is truly special about Idaho Falls Community Hospital is that the leadership team is equally committed to our vision to put patients first. Together, we look forward to caring for our community for many years to come.”
Currently, Idaho Falls Community Hospital is working on obtaining a special stroke and STEMI (a specific type of heart attack) designation, as well as becoming a certified Level III Trauma Center. This certification would ensure the hospital could provide prompt resuscitation, emergency surgery, and intensive care services for the community.