RUPERT — After months of construction, the Minidoka Memorial Hospital opened its brand new surgery and specialties clinic this afternoon with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony. Staff, county commissioners, and even state director, Mike Matthews was in attendance to celebrate the occasion.
The new clinic will provide many services for residents but will primarily act as a place for checkups, preoperative visits, diagnostic visits, and post-surgery follow-ups. The facility will even be able to conduct minor procedures that won't require anesthesia directly in the clinic's procedure room.
The new building has also brought on more staff for the hospital to assist in its established and new services. One of the doctors, Dr. Daclynn Johnson, has worked for Minidoka Memorial for years as a general surgeon and will be one of the four doctors to lend his assistance to the clinic. The other three doctors are all brand new hires, Dr. Chase Nelson, an ear, throat, and nose specialist, Dr. Brandon Beck, another general surgeon, and Dr. Patrick Cindrich, a neuro-spine surgeon.
The new services being provided will allow the hospital and its staff to serve its patients better. The clinic also helps staff with the workflow that comes with operating a hospital.
Chief Executive of Minidoka Memorial, Tom Murphy, said, "It just is a lot more efficient for them and a lot easier for them to do their jobs in a space that's really designed for the modern workflow. So it's really nice to get them out of buildings that are outdated and are at the end of their life and move into a newer space."
Since the hospital didn't offer some of these resources before, it wasn't easy to give adequate treatment for its residents forcing many to have to go to other locations. Now citizens won't have to worry about going elsewhere to receive the treatment they need.
"It can just be frustrating, having a medical issue that needs dealing with and not having access to care, or having to travel a very long distance to get the care that you need. I'm thrilled to be able to meet those needs," said the newly appointed physician, Chase Nelson.
The hospital plans to take a break from moving forward in other construction projects to get operations up and running smoothly at the new clinic. However, the hospital does have plans for continued growth for the future.
