HELPING PEOPLE STAY HEALTHY
Family Health Services expands to the Wood River Valley BY MIKE MCKENNA
PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK, EYE ON SUN VALLEY
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facility was already so busy serving that growing community they he goal of Family Health Services (FHS) is pretty simple: usually have wait lists and had to turn down patients daily. Keep people healthy. That’s one of the big reasons it was so important for FHS It’s why they are extremely thankful that the St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation helped them to open a location in Bellevue. It not only relieves expand their services to the Wood River Valley and pressure on their entire system, it makes it easier and open a new location in Bellevue. cost effective for local people to make visits. “If it weren’t for more“We “We want to provide affordable medical, mental are putting our services where the people the St. Luke’s health and dental visits as well as pharmacy costs are, “Houston said. “We are making things so afso that we can help people maintain health,” said fordable that everyone can have more preventative Wood River Aaron Houston, the CEO for FHS. “We want to health care. We don’t want people ending up in the Foundation help people stay healthy.” ER with something that could have been caught For more than 30 years, FHS has been providearlier or having a toothache turn into a $20,000 there’s no way ing affordable and accessible health care for folks dental bill.” this would have from throughout south-central Idaho. They have FHS had been trying to open locally for years, locations across the region, from Burley to Kimbut the deceivingly high average income levels in happened.” berly to Twin Falls, and now Bellevue. Blaine County made it extremely difficult to get FHS knew there was a need for their services in grant funding. In fact, Houston had already been the Wood River Valley because their Twin Falls and Jerome locashot down by about 75 foundations and hope had been lost. tions saw lots of patients from Blaine County. The Jerome FHS But that’s when the St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation
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DISCOVER HAILEY & THE WOOD RIVER VALLEY 2022
