Spokane-based St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute has moved its North Side clinic to larger quarters, added staff, and changed its mission to focus on treating patients with work-related injuries, says Dave Cox, program manager for the clinic.

St. Luke's Outpatient Clinic at Northpointe now occupies 4,400 square feet of leased space on the lower floor of the three-level Northpointe Medical Building, at 9631 N. Nevada, nearly triple the space it leased on the upper level of that building, Cox says.

"We're changing who we're reaching out to," he says of the new emphasis on treating injured workers. "We researched North Side clinics and found there are 19 clinics in the area, and only two are doing industrial rehabilitation."

The North Side clinic primarily had been geared toward treatment of orthopedic problems, such as sports injuries, Cox says. St. Luke's market research found, though, that eight other clinics within a 2.5-mile radius also handle sports injuries, he says.

"There was nothing making us unique," Cox says.

With the change in focus, the clinic has added an occupational therapist and a physical therapist to its staff, and it's looking to add a chiropractor to bring its total staff to seven, he says.

In addition to on-the-job injuries, the clinic continues to provide physical and occupational therapy for patients with sports injuries, strains and sprains, and back and neck problems, he says, adding that the clinic also offers pre- and post-operative rehabilitation on an outpatient basis.

The clinic has five patient rooms, up from three at its prior location. The clinic also has new rehabilitation equipment, including treadmills, recumbent exercise bikes, and industry-specific equipment for rehabilitation of workers injured in factory, food service, transportation, and clerical settings, Cox says. He declines to disclose the cost of the new equipment.

St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute, which is operated by nonprofit Inland Northwest Health Services, includes a 102-bed hospital, at 711 S. Cowley that it claims is the largest freestanding facility in the Northwest dedicated to rehabilitation. It also occupies a 26,000-square-foot medical office building on the Cowley Street campus.

St. Luke's operates two other outpatient clinics in addition to its North Side office. One is on its main campus, and the other is at 1414 N. Houk, adjacent to Valley Hospital & Medical Center.