During a hospital stay, patients see and interact with nurses, doctors and other bedside caregivers.

Other employees, like Kootenai Health hospital supervisor Jacob Loe, work behind the scenes to make that front-facing care possible. 

Loe is a registered nurse who’s built his career at Kootenai Health. He was part of a nursing operations team when a manager noticed his strong leadership skills and recommended that he train for a new role, one in which he would help oversee the daily operations and staff management at Kootenai Health. 

“I describe it as kind of the firefighter for the day,” Loe said. “We put out all of the little fires that occur throughout the hospital and support all staff that’s there through any challenges they have.” 

Hospital supervisors like Loe attend all codes within the hospital, from a patient whose heart has stopped to a patient who has an escalating risk for violence and everything in between. They also respond to traumas in the emergency department. 

“We touch base with all the teams every single day to make sure they have what they need to do their job,” Loe said. 

A hospital supervisor is always on deck at Kootenai Health. They work 12-hour shifts, usually 8 a.m. to 8 a.m. or 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The team is small, with four full-time employees and several part-time employees who help support the team’s 24/7 staffing model. 

Loe said the hours he works means that he’s fully immersed in the hospital and its goings-on while he’s there. At the end of his shift, he passes the baton to another hospital supervisor. 

“It’s a 24-hour job, so if there’s something you can’t solve or it’s a continuing issue, you know you have support coming,” he said. 

In addition to their daily responsibilities overseeing operations, hospital supervisors are incident commanders in times of crisis. They receive special training for incident command and mass casualty incidents. 

Loe said he enjoys supporting the employees at Kootenai Health, which can bring fun to his role. 

“You see all the good that our teams do and you get to be proud of that,” he said. “Other days are some of the darker days. But that’s where you get to shine as a leader and really step up to the plate and make sure we’re doing what we can for our colleagues and our community.” 

That community is growing, Loe noted. These days, It’s not uncommon to have more than 250 patients at Kootenai Health at any given time. 

This makes the hospital supervisor’s role even more important. People like Loe are the ones who make sure Kootenai Health has nurses available to care for patients and ensures that caregivers have what they need. 

“At the end of the day, the hospital supervisor is the one making sure that high quality, patient-centered care is being delivered to all our patients,” he said. 

Loe said his team works hard to deliver high-quality care to all Kootenai Health patients. 

“We appreciate when people trust their care to us,” he said. “We want what’s best for the patient, always. Even though I might not be the person doing bedside caretaking in the moment, I’m here to make sure they get that safe, compassionate care.” 

    Loe