St. Mary’s and Clearwater Valley Hospitals & Clinics are working to manage this rapidly evolving situation. Please read.
The North Central Health District has a hotline dedicated to assisting the public. If you have any questions about coronavirus or think you may be displaying symptoms, call 208-748-0400 or 1-866-736-6632. Please call this number before visiting a physician’s office or emergency department.
Think you may have coronavirus? Here’s what to do.
- Process for Screening for COVID-19 (as of 3/2/2020)
- If you have:Fever (greater than 100.4) and lower respiratory illness (cough, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing) and have traveled to affected areas within the previous 14 days or have had close contact with lab-confirmed COVID-19 patient within previous 14 days, please call the North Central Health District hotline at 208-748-0400or 1-866-736-6632.If you believe you have Coronavirus/COVID-19 based on meeting all of these criteria and need emergency care, please call the Emergency Department prior to arrival at (208) 476-4555 in Orofino or 208-962-3251 in Cottonwood. Staff will direct you what to do, which may mean staying in your car until staff can meet you outside.
Coronavirus/COVID-19
St. Mary’s and Clearwater Valley Hospitals & Clinics are actively working on preparedness for COVID-19/Coronavirus. The situation is rapidly changing.
Guidelines to the public:
- Avoid the emergency room unless it’s essential. The emergency room is trying to limit any possible exposure and serve those with critical needs.
- Stay home if you’re sick – even if symptoms are mild.
- Practice good personal hygiene habits, including handwashing, coughing into your elbow, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
As of right now, our policy is for NO visitors EXCEPT in the circumstances listed in our visitation policy that can be found by following the link below:
We reserve the right to deny access to ANY visitor that appears unhealthy, is displaying symptoms of sickness or is running a fever.
The most up to date information on this rapidly changing situation can be found on the CDC website.
You can also receive Idaho-specific updates at coronavirus.idaho.gov.
Important to note about the illness:
- Most people with COVID-19 will have mild illness
- Not everyone needs to be tested and testing is not yet widely available
- We are actively working on plans to care for patients with severe coronavirus
- High-risk patients for severe coronavirus disease are older and have comorbidities (other health issues)
Testing
The state laboratory makes the determination on when to accept samples for testing based on the CDC criteria due to the limited number of test kits currently available.
St. Mary’s and Clearwater Valley Hospitals & Clinics are working closely with the North Central Health District and Kootenai Health on preparedness.
To see the most up to date information for Idaho please visit: https://coronavirus.idaho.gov/frequently-asked-questions/
About Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Latest Updates on this Outbreak from the CDC
There is an ongoing investigation to determine more about this outbreak. This is a rapidly evolving situation and information will be updated as it becomes available.
Latest Updates on this Outbreak from the CDCWhat you need to know:
What you need to know:
More/Related Info:
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Info From Our Facebook Feed:
6 Tips for a Healthy Summer. Brought to you by: St. Mary's Health & Clearwater Valley Health
2 days ago ·
Clearwater Valley and St. Mary’s Hospital and Clinics ![]()
Introduce New Names![]()
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[Photo shows: Jeremy Evans, Chief Regional Operations Officer, Kootenai Health, Jon Ness, Chief Executive Officer, Kootenai Health, and Lenne Bonner, Chief Executive Officer, St. Mary's Health and Clearwater Valley Health presenting at last week's Brand Launch Event at CVH. ![]()
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Clearwater Valley Hospital and Clinics in Orofino, Idaho and St. Mary’s Hospital and Clinics in Cottonwood, Idaho are introducing new names, brands and vision as part of their integration into the Kootenai Health regional health care system, headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.![]()
Beginning May 27, Clearwater Valley Hospital and Clinics will be known as Clearwater Valley Health and St. Mary’s Hospital and Clinics will be known as St. Mary’s Health. Clinic locations for each organization will include the hospital name as well as a location-specific identifier. For example: St. Mary’s Health Kamiah Clinic and Clearwater Valley Health Orofino Clinic.![]()
The new identity for each organization features Kootenai Health’s signature “spark,” an icon that signifies reaching out and working together to improve health care as represented by a stylized medical cross. The names honor the long and celebrated histories of these community hospitals, while also focusing on the bright future ahead. United as a health care system, all three logos share a color, fonts and style that signifies their connected and collaborative relationship.![]()
St. Mary’s Health and Clearwater Valley Health will also be adopting the majority of Kootenai Health’s vision statement with one exception. St. Mary’s and Clearwater will replace Kootenai Health’s goal of becoming a “premier medical destination” to instead becoming a “leader in rural health care.” The organizations’ updated vision will be: One, highly connected team, boldly transforming the health care experience, to become a leader in rural health care.![]()
“As we enter the next chapter of our integration, we are thrilled to introduce these new identities. These names and logos are a visual representation of our three organizations’ new level of connectedness,” said Lenne Bonner, CEO of Clearwater Valley Health and St. Mary’s Health. “Today, we are celebrating our incredible history, but also looking forward to the bright future ahead as one connected team.”![]()
As part of Kootenai Health’s regional health care system, Clearwater Valley and St. Mary’s will be able to offer more resources and services for patients in their local communities.![]()
“Working together as a health care network, we are able to multiply our strengths,” Bonner said. “We will have expanded access to more specialists, additional expertise and immediate consultation for complex cases. This, along with the benefit of shared best practices and policies, will lead to better patient outcomes for all.”![]()
In April 2020, both hospitals officially became part of Kootenai Health. The three hospitals share several important ideals including the importance of local decision making and the understanding that as health care evolves, the need for partnerships has never been more important.![]()
Although the names and brand are changing, both hospitals will maintain their current structures and boards. St. Mary’s Health will retain its Catholic identity and remain a faith-based facility. Bonner will remain in the role of CEO for both organizations and the organizations will continue to operate with local management oversight.![]()
“Kootenai Health has a long history of collaborating with other medical providers and critical access hospitals throughout the five northern counties of Idaho,” said Jon Ness, CEO of Kootenai Health. “We know patients do best when they are able to get the care they need close to home. The integration of our three organizations will help keep northern Idaho patients in northern Idaho.” ![]()
Today all three organizations they are celebrating this relationship, the benefit to patients and the promising future.![]()
“When one person works, we move, but when everyone works together, we move forward,” Ness said, “Working as one health system, we are making quality patient care available to more patients in more communities. We look forward to continuing our journey together to help us meet the needs of northern Idaho communities for generations to come.”
2 weeks ago ·
Happy "Emergency Services Week" to all our fabulous emergency personnel! This commitment and dedication from all of our EMT's and other emergency staff is truly inspirational, and often goes unnoticed. SMH/CVH would like to take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt thanks for the time, training, and talents that each of our staff brings to the work of saving lives. #smhcvhc #wegofarther #soyoudonthaveto
4 weeks ago ·
Summer Safety![]()
By Dr. Ian Wallace![]()
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Happy spring everyone! With the change of seasons, spring cleaning at home, and anticipating summer fun activities with my own kids, I would like to discuss children’s health for this article. This is a good opportunity to check in with your kids health (or your grandkids, or any kids you care about and spend time with) and figure out if they need any “maintenance”. ![]()
Children should have a yearly check-up with their health care provider to track basics like height, weight, any chronic medical issues, and just to check in overall, and establish a positive relationship between health care provider and child. Often these visits provide continuity of care, and may in fact catch problems early. If your child plays sports, summer is a good time to get those sports physicals done.![]()
Related to medical care, twice yearly dental visits are also important to maintain kids’ oral health. Keep up with that brushing and flossing twice daily too.![]()
For all the summer fun activities in our area, make sure kids are sun-safe with hats, sunscreen, keep properly hydrated, and get plenty of rest. Make sure their bicycles, skateboards, dirt bikes etc. are in proper working order and that kids wear helmets and protective padding. If kids will be riding in a UTV/quad type vehicle, make sure they have on a helmet and padding and are operating the vehicle at a safe speed or riding with a responsible adult. ![]()
This is a good time of year to check car seat fit. Make sure the seat is appropriate for kids’ height and weight and remember the new recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics is for kids to follow height and weight limits printed by the manufacturer on the car seats themselves. The recommendations are: rear facing for as long as possible in a 5 point harness, followed by front facing in a 5 point harness, followed by a belt positioning booster, until the child is approximately 4 feet 9 inches tall or between the ages of 8-12. Children under the age of 13 should always ride in a back seat. So read those little labels or research the car seat make/model online. Your health care provider can help with this too. Remember car seats do expire after about 10 years, due to sun damage and wear and tear on straps, unfortunately they need to be tossed in a landfill. Some retailers offer car seat trade up events to get a discount on the next size up.![]()
Checking smoke detector batteries should be a part of spring cleaning.![]()
If there are any guns, knives, hunting equipment in the home, make sure that they are locked, or put away, safely, especially considering kids might spend more time at home in the summer months and start to explore nooks and crannies of the home. As your kids mature, they can be a part of maintaining and understanding safe use, storage and handling of hunting, sport shooting type of equipment. If you take your child fishing, monitor them around fishing lines and hooks.![]()
Keep your kids safe around burn piles, campfires and BBQs this summer, make sure those s’mores sticks are long enough! Teach your kids never to start a fire without adult supervision (and keep matches and lighters out of reach). Never leave children alone by a fire. If camping, follow posted forest/campsite rules about open flames and always make sure to keep water nearby and a fire is out before walking away.![]()
Consider wearing long pants, or using bug spray, and check for ticks after a hike or playing in the woods or fields.![]()
If you take your kids out boating or playing in the river or reservoir, make sure kids have a proper fitting PFD on at all times, and kids who don’t know how to swim are within arm’s reach at all times. Consider swimming lessons or teaching your child how to swim.![]()
Summers are a great way to spend time with friends and family, especially as we recover from a strange and challenging year of COVID-19 restrictions. To celebrate and gather safely, vaccines are recommended and approved for those 16 and over, and -just announced!- the 12-15 year old age group is approved as well. Vaccines are a great way to ensure people can travel and gather while staying protected. Getting each age group vaccinated as soon as they are eligible ensures a return to normal activities as quickly and as safely as possible for us all. Talk to your health care provider if you have any questions about the vaccine, and have a great summer!
4 weeks ago ·