Kootenai Health and MultiCare Health System are partnering to build a new 30-acre medical campus in Post Falls, at the southeast corner of Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue.

Construction of the first phase of the project is expected to begin this year and take 24 to 36 months to complete, according to a Kootenai Health press release.

Kootenai Health will be the managing partner of the joint venture and operate the Prairie Medical Campus, as it will be called.

The first phase of the project will include construction of a micro-hospital with a 12-room emergency department, imaging services, and patient rooms for overnight stays. An advanced imaging center will be located in the hospital.

The initial phase also will include the development of a multistory medical office building that will be home to a new ambulatory surgery center, clinic offices, lab services, and more.

The medical office building will have space for new and expanded physician practices that will include both Kootenai Clinic and independent physicians.

Space is available at the campus to accommodate future phases, including the planned development of an expanded, full-service hospital.

“The Prairie Medical Campus in Post Falls is a transformational investment in the future of our region’s health care,” says Jamie Smith, CEO of Kootenai Health. “It is our mission to serve this rapidly growing part of our community.”

The Prairie Medical Campus is the latest collaboration between Coeur d’Alene-based Kootenai Health and Tacoma, Washington-based MultiCare, which has a presence throughout the Inland Northwest.

In 2020, the two health systems partnered on the implementation of an electronic health record system. The health systems also partnered on two Indigo Urgent Care locations: one in Coeur d’Alene and another that's expected to open in Hayden this spring.