The first phase of construction for the planned Prairie Medical Campus in Post Falls is expected to kick off this month and conclude in December 2027.

The 30-acre health care campus is being created through a joint venture between Kootenai Health and MultiCare Health System. It will be located at the southeast corner of Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue, about 2 miles north of Interstate 90.

The estimated timeline to complete the first phase has been reduced since the project was first announced one year ago.

“This schedule reflects the efficiencies built into the design and planning process and keeps us ahead of the broader 24- to 36-month range referenced early in project discussions,” says Kootenai Health communications, media, and public relations manager Andrea Nagel in an email to the Journal.

An estimated construction cost for the first phase isn’t currently available, she says.

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

The initial phase also will include the development of a multistory medical office building that will house clinic offices and lab services. The office building will have space for new and expanded physician practices for both Kootenai Clinic and independent physicians.

Spokane-based Bouten Construction Co. is the contractor of the first phase of the project, and Seattle-based Collins Woerman Co., which does business as CollinsWoerman and has a Spokane office, is the architect.

Coeur d’Alene-based Parkwood Business Properties LLC is the development partner for the medical campus project.

The Prairie Medical Campus property has space to accommodate future expansions, including the planned development of an expanded, full-service hospital, which Nagel says “remains a key component of meeting projected growth and future health care needs.”

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 records system. The two health systems also partnered on two Indigo Urgent Care locations: one in Coeur d’Alene and another in Hayden.

“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, in a press release last year. “It is our mission to serve this rapidly growing part of our community.”

—Dylan Harris