COEUR d’ALENE — Kootenai County is aiming to open a medical clinic for county employees in March, though it first must finalize the clinic’s location.

Operated by PMR Healthcare, the clinic will be open to county employees and will offer primary and preventative care without co-pays or deductibles. The Hagadone Corp. opened a similar PMR clinic for its employees last summer. 

For the county's clinic, PMR Healthcare has retained a doctor who has not been publicly named. Commissioners voted unanimously in November to approve a physician stipend of $45,000 per month, beginning Jan. 1. The county has budgeted $100,000 per month for clinical services.

“The guy’s getting paid even though we’re not open yet,” Commissioner Bill Brooks said Wednesday. “That’s OK. That’s what you’ve got to do sometimes, when you’ve got a good doc. I just want us to move full speed ahead on opening this clinic.”

Brooks said he expects the clinic to save money for the county and for employees.

“It will give employees of the county a great resource,” he said. “When your kid has the snuffles, you don’t need to take them in and come out with a $900 bill.”

Commissioners indicated Tuesday that the county is trying to finalize a lease for the clinic site but has hit a stumbling block with the property owner’s insurance requirements. Commissioner Bruce Mattare said he’s reached out to an unspecified insurance provider to explore what a private insurance option might cost the county.

“My suspicion is that it’ll come in way below, costwise, for the county than if we pay one extra month for this doctor,” he said.

The building, which is reportedly located in Coeur d’Alene, south of Kootenai Health, is currently occupied by a tenant and may need some renovations before it’s ready for the county’s use. An environmental assessment also revealed asbestos in one room, which must be abated before the county can lease the property.

“My concern is that we’ll be in a situation here where we may have to start again because either things don’t work out or a new tenant comes in with more favorable terms,” Mattare said.

“That would be the third time we’d start,” Brooks added.

About a year after Kootenai County began seriously exploring the possibility of a clinic for employees, Brooks said he’s excited to see the project come to fruition.

“I think Kootenai County is a great place to work,” he said. “I think having a private medical clinic like this will make it a much greater place. The employees will know — not just feel, but know — that we really care about them and their families.”

    Mattare