Physicians Unite
Twenty-five independent Kootenai County physicians have joined to offer the After Hours Care Clinic and a telephone medical consulting service. The clinic will open Tuesday at 920 Ironwood Drive, the Ironwood Family Practice building near the Kootenai Medical Center.
The clinic will be open 6-10 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The on-duty staff will include a doctor, medical assistant, triage (service priority) nurse and a receptionist. No appointments or referrals are needed.
An after-hours nurse consultant will be available by calling the usual number of your independent family physician. Computer software will allow the consultant to access records of the 25 physicians’ practices.
“This is a tremendous benefit service for our own patients,” said Dr. Neil Nemec. “This will offer improved quality care after hours, and they’ll know just where to go.”
Nemec said the physicians consolidated their efforts to help preserve independent practice in the area. Future after-hour clinics are planned for Hayden and Post Falls. Administrator is Mike Rust.
Nemec and Dr. Michael Dixon, of Family Medicine of Coeur d’Alene, also announced the addition to their staff of Lisa Reames, an advanced registered nurse practitioner. A native of Priest River, Reames came to Coeur d’Alene from Spokane after obtaining degrees from the University of Idaho, Washington State University and the Intercollegiate Center for Nursing in Spokane.
Featuring a chef who worked at the late Sonny Bono’s restaurant in Palm Springs, Calif., the restaurant at Rockford Bay Resort & Marina has been completely renovated.
The restaurant, on Lake Coeur d’Alene near Highway 95 South, now has a cathedral ceiling and views of the lake from all 75 indoor seats and the large deck. The fresh look includes new floors, paint and a larger kitchen. Chef Ernie Smith offers the restaurant’s regular menu for all three meals and weekend specials, including fresh fish and a chicken pollo entree which was a Sonny Bono favorite.
Live music is featured on Saturdays, and the restaurant-bar area is available for groups and private parties.
Open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, the business includes a bar, convenience store, the only lake-access gas pump on the lower lake, 104 boat slips, boat access to the restaurant, 20 R.V. sites and four rental cabins. Owner Geri Hyatt, who came from Boise six years ago, has 15 employees.
With seating for 85 customers and employing about 50 people, a new Taco Bell restaurant is under construction at 262 W. Hanley Ave., just south of Silver Lake Mall. The 2,300-square-foot Mexican eatery should open in late July.
Although staying with the usual Taco Bell menu and general design, owners Steve Cobb and Terri Miller have reconfigured the front-line area to allow better customer flow. A father-daughter combination, the owners came to North Idaho 13 years ago and built the Taco Bell on Appleway. They also own the Taco Bell and TCBY Yogurt stores in Rathdrum.
Several times honored as the busiest Taco Bell in the Northwest region, the Appleway store has been noted for its employment of disabled people.
“It’s good for us, and it’s good for them, too,” said Bret Hooppaw, director of operations. “It’s one way of giving back to the community.” A 24-year veteran of Taco Bell, Hooppaw came to Coeur d’Alene from Seattle, where he administered 27 restaurants.
The 37-year-old Irvine, Calif.-based company has about 6,000 outlets. It is affiliated with the Tricon Co., which also owns the Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken chains.
Tidbits:
The new owner of the 70-acre parcel between Northwest Boulevard and the Spokane River in Coeur d’Alene says he hopes the Centennial Trail can be moved to the riverfront rather than retained along the busy arterial.
We hope the city of Coeur d’Alene and the DeArmond Mill, the adjacent property owners, will follow suit to connect the trail with North Idaho College’s waterfront. Meanwhile, construction has begun on the new John Beutler Realty building on the northeast side of Northwest Boulevard.
Although spokesmen of the Hagadone Corp. and the Bon Marche won’t comment, one interesting retailing rumor is that the Bon’s new store in the Resort Plaza is just a “feeler” store - that the Bon may end up as a department store in the Johnson Building space across from the plaza.
Notice that the Factory Outlets at Post Falls now is named Prime Outlets. The change reflects the name of 51 Baltimore-based outlet centers nationwide.