Star Valley Health is a not-for-profit 22-bed Critical Access Hospital located in Afton, Wyoming. Star Valley Health's actual name is the North Lincoln County Hospital District and serves Lincoln County. Star Valley Health had been known as Star Valley Medical Center since 1999 and has undergone a recent rebranding and renaming in May 2019. Star Valley Health is the primary provider of healthcare in the area. Any other healthcare facilities are over an hour's drive from the Star Valley community. Star Valley Health is a Level 4 Trauma Center and the Emergency Room serves not only residents of the area, but also the many travelers who come through the valley via Highway 89 enroute to Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Star Valley Health has transfer agreements with Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, Idaho, and Logan Regional Hospital in Logan, Utah. Bren Lowe is the current CEO of SVMC.
Awards
In 2011 Star Valley Health was named a top 100 Rural Hospital, as well as a 5 star Medicare rated Care Center.
History
Star Valley's medical services began with the early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who migrated to Star Valley from Salt Lake City. The first medical care in Star Valley happened around 1904 and often had several locations during the first few decades, one of the first locations being a kitchen. Dr. Perkes, whom the hospital's street is now named after, arrived in the 1950s to begin his medical work, and served the community until his death in 2012. Dr. Perkes tenure saw many changes. In 1999 Star Valley Hospital, which was owned by Intermountain Healthcare discontinued services in Star Valley. The community rallied together in order to keep medical services local, and reestablished as Star Valley Medical Center. Star Valley Medical Center continued to grow and expanded its care to the surrounding areas of Alpine and Thayne while also adding a Long Term Care Facility and then building a brand new facility in 2003. Since then the expansion has continued and Star Valley Medical Center added Orthopedics, Physical Therapy, a Sleep Lab, a new ER, and expanded its OR. In 2019, Star Valley Medical Center underwent a rebranding and renaming to reflect the direction of the organization, and became Star Valley Health.
Star Valley Health is home to many machines and services. Star Valley Health laboratory department processes most of the lab work for the hospital and the outlying clinics. The radiology department is home to an all-digital X-Ray machine, Ultrasound machine, 3D Mammography, CT scanner, and MRI. Next to Radiology is an eight room Emergency Room, which includes three trauma rooms. The surgery department is composed of three surgical suites as well as two endoscopy suites. The Med/Surge floor has 22 beds including two Labor & Delivery rooms and two Tele-ICU rooms. The Care Center is connected to the hospital and has 24 rooms. The hospital also includes a pharmacy, infusion, and specialty clinic. Close to the hospital is the outpatient Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy building, as well as the sleep lab.
Medical Technology
In 2016 Star Valley Health installed a Hitachi Scenaria CT Scanner. SVMC is also home to the Hitachi Oval MRI, chosen to accommodate patients who suffer with anxiety of small spaces as it provides a larger space for patient's comfort while receiving a scan. Star Valley Health also contains two tele-ICU rooms that are monitored by Intermountain Health.
Services Offered
Star Valley Health offers over 40 services including: Allergy, Anesthesiology, Care Center, Childbirth, Cardiology, CT Imaging, Dermatology, Diabetes Care, Ear, Nose & Throat, Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Gifts of Joy Gift Shop, Gynecology, Hematology /Oncology, Infusion Therapy, Interventional Radiology, Laboratory, MRI, Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical Oncology, Nutritional Counseling, Obstetrics, Orthopaedics, Outpatient Surgery, Pain Management, Pediatrics, Physical Therapy /Occupational Therapy, Physician Supervised Weight Loss, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Psychiatry, Radiology, Rehabilitation, Sleep Lab, Spine Surgery, Surgical Services, Swing Bed Extended Care, Urology, Vascular Surgery, Ultrasound Imaging, Women’s Services, and many teleservices such as tele-stroke, tele burn, and tele-ICU.
Expansion
Star Valley Health now has clinics in the towns of Afton, Thayne, Alpine, and Cokeville, as well as urgent care clinics in both Afton and Alpine.
Afton Clinic
Star Valley Health, Afton Clinic is connected to the main hospital. It is home to five family practice physicians, two general surgeons, and a pediatrician.
Thayne Clinic
Star Valley Health, Thayne Clinic is an outreach clinic located in Thayne, Wyoming and serves the residents and visitors of Star Valley Monday through Friday. Other services are available including obstetric and pediatric care, and treatment of minor injuries, lacerations, broken bones, colds, coughs, and burns.
Alpine Clinic
Star Valley Health, Alpine Clinic is an outreach clinic serving Alpine, Wyoming and provides the residents and visitors in the north end of Star Valley with quality healthcare services and minor emergencies.
Cokeville Clinic
The Cokeville Clinic is part of the Cokeville Hospital District, and has a partnership with Star Valley Health for administration and staffing needs. Services offered at this clinic include: comprehensive health care for children, adolescents, adults and seniors.
Mountain West Orthopedics & Sports Medicine
Mountain West Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, a service of Star Valley Health, employs three full-time board certified and fellowship trained orthopedic surgeons and works closely with additional specialists. Together, these surgeons provide a complete range of orthopedic services and sports medicine from head to toe, including knee reconstruction, total joint replacements, spinal surgery, arthroscopic surgery, and fracture care/trauma. Clinic services are provided in each of the clinics within Star Valley, and extend regionally to Bridger Valley, Evanston, Kemmerer, and Logan Utah. Mountain West was founded in 2006 as Salt River Orthopedics, and went through a re-branding and renaming in May 2019.
Care Center
The Star Valley Care Center was founded in 1997 and currently has 24 beds. The facility provides an on site lab and pharmacy, beauty salons, and in house worship services as well as numerous extracurricular activities. The Care Center includes 24-hour nursing, social, dietary and restorative services. Recreation Therapy and Medical Supervision are also included. Star Valley Care Center consistently achieves a 5 Star rating from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Education
While not officially a teaching hospital, Star Valley Health offers various educational outreach programs to the community. Star Valley Health offers CNA courses, CPR and BLS education, community health wellness programs such as diabetes education. Childrens programs are provided, such as an annual Teddy Bear Clinic for kindergartners which helps alleviate the fear of hospitals and equipment, and an annual Scrub Camp for 7th and 8th graders, allowing them an opportunity to explore health related careers. The Star Valley Community Health and Safety Expo is another annual event that is focused on providing information and education to the community, in conjunction with other organizations. Star Valley Health is also a clinical site for several universities including Weber State University and BYU-Idaho.
The Star Valley Health Charitable Foundation was created to raise funds to purchase additional equipment not provided in the organization's capital budget. This additional equipment enables Star Valley Health to remain competitive with larger facilities and to provide the residents of Star Valley and surrounding communities. The Foundation raises money through a yearly capital campaign and various events during the year such as a community fun run, a bowling and golf fundraiser, and the popular Mountain Man Triathlon. The Charitable Foundation goal is to provide the residents of Star Valley quality medical care.
