Build housing for St. Luke’s Wood River Employees

Retaining and recruiting critical healthcare workers is a significant challenge across the nation and in the Wood River Valley. The local real estate market dynamics, including rising home prices and lack of supply of rental units, have challenged the hospital’s ability to recruit and retain employees.

The challenges facing healthcare nationally—such as early retirement, burnout, and the traveling nurse industry—make it difficult, and very costly, to staff our local hospital.

The limited availability of housing to rent or own is a challenge felt by our entire community and significantly impacts the ability to recruit and retain critical healthcare professionals. St. Luke’s Wood River currently has a very high number of vacant positions with a vacancy rate much higher than the three hospitals in our region. The difficulty of staffing St. Luke’s Wood River hospital impacts its ability to provide critical healthcare services.

To help ensure the high-quality health care our community relies upon, the St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation has partnered with ARCH Community Housing Trust and St. Luke’s Health System to build 12 new workforce housing units.

The first four of twelve new homes for St. Luke’s healthcare professionals are complete in Hailey.

The next phases of housing—a fourplex in Bellevue and a fourplex in Hailey—are underway and will be move-in ready for St. Luke’s Wood River health care workers in the fall of 2023.

The homes are designated as long-term rentals for St. Luke’s Wood River employees. The leases will stipulate that continued employment is a condition of housing.

To make this housing a reality, ARCH contributed the land, and the $4.7 million development cost is being funded by St. Luke’s Health System in partnership with St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation.

St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation needs your help to raise $2.35 million for housing for healthcare professionals.

Your gift to build workforce housing for healthcare professionals will significantly help to ensure clinical excellence and empower health for all.