Northwest Specialty Hospital is expanding with construction of a 9,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center and other new facilities and services planned or under way in Kootenai and Spokane counties.

The new Post Falls facility, located at 1624 E. Mullan, directly east of the main hospital building at 1593 E. Polston, includes two outpatient operating rooms and space for patient recovery and pre-operation procedures, says Rick Rasmussen, Northwest Specialty Hospital’s CEO.

The contractor for the project is Hayden-based StanCraft Construction Group.

He declines to disclose Northwest Specialty Hospital’s investment in the project, but Post Falls building records show the construction value at $6 million.

Rasmussen says the expansion is necessary due to Northwest Specialty Hospital’s rapidly growing business.

The new outpatient surgery center will focus on orthopedic and spinal procedures, including hip, knee, foot, and ankle operations. Rasmussen says the facility, which is scheduled to open in early 2024, is expected to enhance efficient and affordable outpatient surgical care options for the Inland Northwest.

“With more outpatient opportunities, it makes procedures more affordable,” Rasmussen says. 

Ambulatory surgery centers can lower the cost of surgeries, depending on the procedures being performed, due to lower overhead costs compared to inpatient procedures, Rasmussen contends.

“Building this center is a major step in continuing our mission of value-based care, which aims for high-quality health outcomes at a more affordable cost,” Rasmussen says. “This addition will also help meet the health care needs of a growing community.”

Rasmussen says orthopedic and spine procedures are especially prevalent in an increasingly older population.

“I call it the silver tsunami—so many older folks coming to our community,” he says.

Dr. Gregory Keese, an orthopedic surgeon, says more surgical procedures are being performed on an outpatient basis for practical reasons.

“The trend for health care in general is to push more surgeries toward ambulatory surgery centers,” says Keese, who estimates 90% of surgeries he conducts are outpatient procedures.

“It’s a more cost-effective way to do surgery,” he says. “It’s just more efficient, and (patients) get in and out quicker and there’s a lot less wasted time for the patient and the surgeon.”

Keese adds, “The growth of the surgical community has closely mirrored population growth since my arrival at Northwest Specialty Hospital, while facility growth has lagged behind. Slower surgical (facility) growth has limited surgeon and patient access to operating rooms.”

The new ambulatory surgery center will help address the bottleneck in the availability of surgical procedures, he says.

Northwest Specialty Hospital opened in 2002 with four operating rooms and 60 employees. About 2,000 surgeries were performed there in its first year. Since then, the hospital has added eight operating rooms in two expansions.

The organization has over 800 employees, and in 2023, it will handle a six-figure patient volume, Rasmussen says.

The current project will increase the hospital’s operating suites to 12, and it will add 15 new employees initially. The facility is designed to add two additional operating rooms in the future as the need arises.

The new ambulatory surgery center is a partnership between Northwest Specialty Hospital and several other medical practices, including Orthopedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Clinic PLLC, Inland Northwest Spine PLLC, and Dewing Sports Orthopedic Surgery PC.

The Post Falls expansion project isn’t the only growth-related project for Northwest Specialty Hospital.

The hospital is moving forward with plans for a new urgent care facility in Athol that will include ambulatory surgery and family medicine. The hospital also recently purchased an urgent care practice in Rathdrum.

Across the Washington state line, in Liberty Lake, Northwest Specialty Hospital is growing its regional footprint at an existing medical facility. Eventually, Northwest Specialty Hospital plans to build a new ambulatory surgery center in Liberty Lake on land it owns at 21701 E. Country Vista Drive, just off Interstate 90 near the Home Depot store.

“We’re looking to set up our own (facility) there for neuro, orthopedic, and multiple-specialty surgeries by the second quarter of next year,” Rasmussen says. “This would be our first venture into Washington.”

As earlier reported in the Journal, Northwest Specialty Hospital sold its Post Falls real estate holdings last year to Milwaukee-based health care institutional investment company Hammes Partners LLC for $67.5 million. Rasmussen said at the time that Hammes Partners plans to assist Northwest Specialty Hospital in expanding its capabilities.