Saint Alphonsus Health System of Boise, Idaho, will replace its 162-bed medical center in Nampa, Idaho, by summer 2017. The five-story, $80 million replacement facility will help Saint Alphonsus to accommodate the needs of a rapidly growing population.
Saint Alphonsus broke ground on the new Saint Alphonsus Medical Center–Nampa in June. The facility will include 100 private, inpatient beds; a 10-bed short stay unit; an 18-bed intensive care unit; a six-room surgical suite and a 24-room emergency department. The new campus already houses the emergency department; urgent care, heart and maternity centers; and a medical office building. The medical center's opening will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the hospital's founding.
Saint Alphonsus leaders said the new hospital is needed because Canyon County, Idaho, is growing quickly, with a 300 percent population increase since 1968, when the legacy campus was erected. Josh Schlaich, media coordinator of Saint Alphonsus Health System, said that growth is due in large part to the fact that the area attracts employers, families and retirees because of the relatively low cost of living locally as well as the area's blend of city living with much outdoor recreation.
A replacement facility also is warranted because the legacy facility is outmoded, according to Saint Alphonsus leaders. The new campus — located at an interstate highway interchange — also is more accessible to people in Canyon County than the current medical center about 5 miles away.
Saint Alphonsus will maintain an emergency room, urgent care facility and some physician offices at the legacy campus. It has offered most of the remainder of the campus to the state of Idaho, which is determining how it might use the space.
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