All orthopedic care under one roof: St. Luke’s unveils ‘transformative’ Boise center

Bringing all of its orthopedic and sports medicine services to a central location, St. Luke’s Heath System unveiled its long-awaited Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Boise’s West End on Thursday.

The 230,000-square-foot building at 25th Street and Fairview Avenue has been in the works since 2017, and was originally planned to be a hospital.

Now completed, the four-story building at 2619 W. Fairview is home to a gamut of orthopedic care under one roof, with 12 operating rooms, a walk-in clinic and a retail pharmacy to open in the spring.

It arrives as Idaho struggles with health care shortages. Saltzer Health, a medical practice with 11 Treasure Valley clinics, has said it will close by the end of March if it cannot find a buyer. Medical leaders have raised concerns about the state’s restrictive abortion making it risky for physicians to treat women with health-threatening pregnancies and discouraging some OB-GYNs from practicing in Idaho.

The center plans to see its first patient on Feb. 20, and its first surgery is scheduled for mid-April, according to officials.

“Patients are at the center of everything that we do,” Nicole Brown, the center’s chief operating officer, said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon. “This new outpatient facility will simplify and streamline orthopedic care in the Treasure Valley.”

Many of St. Luke’s patients can now have surgery and be discharged the same day to begin recovery at home, she said.

Three floors of the building are dedicated to orthopedic clinic space for specialties including pediatrics, foot and ankle, hand and wrist, joint replacement and sports medicine. It has indoor and outdoor areas for rehabilitation and physical therapy, with lab services and advanced imaging capabilities, St. Luke’s said.

St. Luke’s paused construction of the center in 2019 to rethink how it could best support the rapidly growing population in and around Boise, and the health care needs accompanying that growth.

“The journey to this facility took some time — a lot of time,” St. Luke’s Health System COO Sandee Gehrke said. “For several years, we explored what this facility could be, what services it could provide for our community and our caregivers, and how care could be different delivered here. I think this has been a test in perseverance but also agility, and we’re just so happy that we’re here today and really pleased with the outcome.”

Gehrke said the design of the center is shaped by the latest advancements in surgical techniques and technological innovation.

Dr. Buzz Showalter, system medical director for St. Luke’s orthopedic services, said the center will afford patients the luxury of top-notch care in just one location.

“From the initial office visit through surgery to the final appointment with the physical therapist, our patients will receive comprehensive and highly coordinated care,” Showalter said. “This is transformative.”

Brown told the Idaho Statesman that St. Luke’s locations around the Valley that were previously used to provide orthopedic care will either be handed off to grow other specialties that need more space or emptied out as its leases on the buildings end.

She said another result of the Boise region’s growth is that various specialties at St. Luke’s need access to more space.

As for this orthopedic center, Brown said St. Luke’s wants it to be well-known beyond the community.

“(The new center) fosters collaboration in a way that is hard to replicate when you’re working across the Valley,” Brown said. “Nothing replaces the ability to walk down the hall, tap somebody on the shoulder and say, ‘We need to order a test,’ or ‘We need to consider a different plan of care.’ By closing those gaps, that creates efficiencies so that the patient gets to their outcome faster.”

This story was originally published February 9, 2024 at 4:00 AM.

Angela Palermo

Idaho Statesman

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Angela Palermo covers business and public health for the Idaho Statesman. She grew up in Hagerman and graduated from the University of Idaho, where she studied journalism and business. Angela previously covered education for the Lewiston Tribune and Moscow-Pullman Daily News.  Support my work with a digital subscription