A Spokane neurosurgeon and a partner whos moving to the area from Oregon are opening a new practice in Coeur dAlene that they hope eventually will grow into a multispecialty spine center based at Kootenai Medical Center there.


Dr. Jeffrey Larson, the Spokane neurosurgeon, and Dr. Glenn Keiper, of Eugene, Ore., in August will open Coeur dAlene Spine & Brain PLLC, at 700 Ironwood Drive, in the Interlake Medical Building.


The two attended medical school together at the University of Cincinnati.


Coeur dAlene Spine & Brain will hire six people to work in the practice in addition to themselves, Larson says.


Larson currently is in practice at Inland Neurosurgery & Spine Associates PS, of Spokane, where he specializes in spinal surgery. He will be leaving that practice.


He wants to open a practice in Coeur dAlene because its a growing area in terms of its population and also its business base, he says. Plus, I have an opportunity to go into practice with one of my closest friends and somebody who shares my focus.


Larson says hed eventually like his and Keipers practice to become part of a spine center at Kootenai Medical Center. He envisions such a center as a place where various medical specialists, from neurosurgeons to anesthesiologists to rehabilitation therapists, could bring a team approach to spine care. He already participates in such a hospital-based center in Spokane, called the Inland Neuroscience & Spine Center, at Sacred Heart Medical Center.


Larson is talking with Joe Morris, Kootenai Medical Centers CEO, about establishing such a center at that hospital, although it could be two years before the center opens, he says.


Its going to be fun, Larson says of the soon-to-open practice. Glenn and I are both actively engaged in clinical research, the development of new technologies, and outcome management, which are important principles in spine care.