Hailey and the neighboring communities Ketchum and Sun Valley, Idaho are located in the midst of the lovely Wood River Valley and in the heart of the central Idaho Rockies. Hailey is about 160 miles east of Boise, the state's capital. The Wood River Valley is in Blaine County, at the edge of the Sawtooth and Challis National Forests. Almost surrounded by U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, the valley's heart is the Big Wood River. The main route into town is State Highway 75 off U.S. 20 to the south. The nearest interstate freeway is I-84 to the south. The population is close to 7,000 and Hailey enjoys the tag line: "Idaho's hometown in the mountains". To learn more about the area visitt: www.haileyidaho.com or www.ketchumidaho.org

Clinic:
The St. Luke's Family Medicine Hailey Clinic (formerly Wood River Family Medicine) has been taking care of the healthcare needs of the Wood River Valley for over 20 years. They have grown from two to eight family physicians and two mid-level providers. Due to population growth, a second clinic was opened in Ketchum, the St. Luke's Family Medicine Ketchum Clinic. Hailey was one of the two original WRITE sites, beginning October 1997. They also participate as an ongoing R/UOP site and community rotation for family practice residents. Students may spend time at satellite clinics in Challis and Stanley in addition to the Hailey and Ketchum clinics.

Nursing Home: Blaine Manor Extended care has been in the south end of the Hailey Hospital since 1983 and has 25 fully licensed beds and 95% of the residents are from the local community. It is owned by the County. The St. Luke's Family Medicine physicians provide quality care to the residents on a regular basis.

Hospital: St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center in Ketchum has 25 patient beds as well as a Critical Care Unit providing advanced monitoring equipment and around-the-clock care. More than 1,600 admissions in the last fiscal year, including 294 deliveries, 1,535 outpatient procedures, and 440 inpatient procedures. There are 36 active staff physicians, 43 courtesy staff and 4 consulting staff. The student receives hospital privileges according to required hospital bylaws. The hospital web site is www.stlukesonline.org/wood_river

Televideo: Available at the hospital; call 208-727-8403 for more information.

What to Expect:
Dr. Frank Batcha, the primary WRITE Preceptor, is fellowship trained in Sports Medicine. The WRITE student will assist Dr. Batcha with some of his duties outside of the clinic, including assisting as team doc for the Sun Valley Suns Hockey team. Students can work with Dr. Rich Paris for OB exposure. The clinic has access to specialists in Orthopedics, ER medicine, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, OB/GYN, and Surgery who are willing to have the student spend time with them. The local hospital emergency room is staffed full time by ER physicians, and students are encouraged to spend time there as well. The clinic physicians rotate call with one physician being “hospitalist” for several days at a time. The student will round with the hospitalist in the morning, and will rotate between preceptors for clinic in the afternoons. The student generally takes call with the primary preceptor. Procedures are available on a catch as catch can basis, but students are encouraged to be flexible in case an opportunity arises.

Housing:
WRITE student housing is a 2 bd/1ba condo next to the bike path, located just one mile from the Hailey Clinic. The condo has cable TV, internet, washer/dryer, and a covered car port with lockable small storage unit. There is no land-line phone. Students will need a vehicle most days since there is required travel to/from housing/hospital/clinic.

Directions:
Boise to Hailey, 2.5 hours – I84 East, HWY 20 East, HWY 75 North (75 turns into Main Street in Hailey); clinic is on the east side of the street – 155 miles. St. Luke's Family Medicine Ketchum Clinic is located in Ketchum. Continue north on HWY 75 to Ketchum and turn left at the light. The office building is next door to the hospital. To see a map of where we are located and/or get directions from other locations, go to maps.google.com (for directions, click "Get Directions" in the upper left-hand corner where you can input the starting address).

Air Transportation: To Boise–most major carriers. There are limited flights into Hailey’s Airport: http://www.flyfma.com.

Eateries:
Suggestions: Hailey: DaVinci's, CK's, Zou75; Ketchum: Chandler’s, The Kneadery, Pioneer Saloon

Lodging:
Wood River Inn, N Main St, Hailey 208-578-0600; BW Kentwood, 180 Main, Ketchum, 800-805-1001; Clarion Inn, HWY 75 & 6th, Ketchum 800-262-4833; SV Resort, SV Road, Sun Valley, 800-786-8259; Knob Hill Inn B&B, N Main St, Ketchum 800-526-8010

Extracurricular Activities:
Skiing, snowboarding, skiing, dog sledding, fishing, glider rides, heli-skiing, ice skating, Nordic, paragliding, sleigh rides, snowmobiling, golf, horseback riding, hunting, bird and wildflower tours, ATV rides. Visit www.haileyidaho.com.

Weather Trends:
Winters are snow-filled and sunny. Summers are warm and sunny. Average summer temperature is 78 degrees, the average winter temperature is 23 degrees, with an average of 150-200 annual inches of snowfall.  And they don't call it Sun Valley for nothing--250 days of sunshine each year.