Forum to address Idaho women’s health access crisis in Coeur d’Alene

Women in Idaho are traveling farther and waiting longer for care after the state lost more than one-third of its OB/GYN providers between 2022 and 2024, and that strain will be the focus of a forum April 19 at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library.

The event, titled Idaho Women’s Healthcare At Risk, comes as Kootenai County’s own numbers show how many people could feel the squeeze when specialty care gets thinner. The county’s population was estimated at 188,323 in July 2024, and 20.8% of residents were age 65 or older. About 10.5% of residents under age 65 lacked health insurance in 2020-2024, a reminder that access problems reach beyond pregnancy to routine women’s health, chronic disease care and mental health support.

The League of Women Voters of Kootenai County is hosting the forum with Heritage Health, Kootenai Health, Nonpartisan Doctors of CdA, Idaho for All and DART. Speakers are expected to include Amber Nelson, Cynthia Dalsing, Brenna McCrummen, Mike Baker and retired hospital executive Richard Palagi, and organizers say the program will mix an overview of the healthcare landscape with provider reflections, patient stories and discussion of possible next steps.

Baker, who leads Heritage Health, has framed the issue as one of people and families trying to get the care they need. Palagi has pointed to workforce shortages and financial pressure that are straining rural hospitals and pushing general practitioners to cover gaps in women’s health services that once would have been handled by specialists.

The pressure is especially sharp outside urban hospitals. In some rural communities, hospitals no longer provide obstetrics, forcing women in labor to travel up to two hours for hospital care. KFF reported in 2024 that Idaho’s abortion law drove multiple OB-GYNs out of Sandpoint, leaving some patients to drive nearly an hour to Coeur d’Alene for gynecological care. Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare says geography and distance are central barriers in the state’s rural health system.

The broader maternal-health picture has stayed troubling. March of Dimes said Idaho recorded 2,113 preterm births in 2024, a 9.1% preterm birth rate that ranked seventh among states and territories. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says perinatal quality collaboratives are one way states can improve maternal and infant outcomes through partnerships among hospitals, providers and public health agencies.

For families in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Athol and the smaller communities in between, the question is no longer whether access is under strain. It is how far the next appointment, delivery or diagnosis will be from home.