St. Luke's Report to the Community 2004

22
Meeting Community Needs
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people turn to
St. Luke’s for care. We plan — and put into practice —
ways to best meet their individual needs. This
includes constructing new facilities, enhancing
existing services, and introducing new programs
and technology. Last year was no exception. Below
are just a few of our major accomplishments, made
possible through local support, strong partnerships
and an unwavering dedication to the health and
well-being of our community.
January
35 Years of Open Heart Surgery – The beginning of the
year marked 35 complete years of revolutionary heart care.
In December 1968, Dr. Rodney Herr performed Idaho’s first
open heart surgery at St. Luke’s in Boise. Today, more than
35,000 heart procedures, including over 600 open heart
surgeries, are performed annually at St. Luke’s.
5th Floor, St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center –
Expansion into the hospital’s fifth floor shell now allows us
to accommodate 42 patients on the Medical/Surgical Unit.
The expansion also created additional room on the fourth
floor for Telemetry and Critical Care, and allows Pediatrics
to care for up to ten children.
New Linear Accelerator – The state-of-the-art Varian 21EX
linear accelerator, installed at St. Luke’s Mountain States
Tumor Institute at our Meridian Medical Center, is designed
to provide intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). The
new accelerator especially benefits patients with primary
and metastatic tumors to the central nervous system, head
and neck, and prostate.