New Saint Alphonsus facility brings 15 areas of medicine to Caldwell residents

From a medical standpoint, the diagnosis is far simpler than the remedy. Large-scale health care providers are being tasked with finding ways to keep up with and provide accessible and crucial health care services for residents of rapidly growing communities.

On the Treasure Valley’s west side, the new Saint Alphonsus Caldwell Health Plaza aims to do just that.

“Saint Alphonsus is ready and honored to serve the people of Caldwell,” said David McFadyen, president and CEO of Saint Alphonsus Health System. “The Caldwell Health Plaza facility gives our providers and colleagues the opportunity to deliver compassionate and healing care for one of the fastest growing communities in the country.”

A special community ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 30 helped usher in what would be the official first day, Nov. 3, that the facility began providing patient services at the state-of-the-art, 60,000-square-foot facility. Covering 18 acres and situated on Aviation Avenue just off the corner of Interstate 84 and Highway 20/26, the new complex will offer residents in the heart of Canyon County access to more than 30 physicians specializing in more than 15 areas of care.

“By creating more access to primary and specialty care in Caldwell, better health outcomes of our community are possible, not just today but for the long haul,” said Dr. Mark Nassir, president of the medical group.

In addition to both primary and urgent care services, some of the many other specialties available at the new site include family medicine, pediatrics, OBGYN, cardiology, sports medicine, orthopedics and lab and imagery services.

“This clinic goes beyond being a facility. It is a place where we will live out our mission to serve as a compassionate and transforming healing presence in Canyon County,” Nassir said.

And going beyond is no flashy play on words. Caldwell checks in as Idaho’s fourth largest municipality and ranks among the top 100 fastest-growing cities in the nation. Caldwell’s population has shot up 21.5% between 2020 and 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics the hospital relies on to determine facility needs.

“With that growth comes a responsibility to step up and to make sure a community like this has a place to receive care close to home,” said Clint Child, president of the Nampa Saint Alphonsus Medical Center. “We are proud to answer that call for this community.”

Going one step further, Child called the medical outfit’s investment in Caldwell “part of a wider county strategy” to help meet expanding health care needs and demands.

“We’re prioritizing access, innovation, community resources and building connections with networks to ensure every resident, from young families to aging adults, have access to care close to home,” he said.

Outgoing Caldwell Mayor Jarom Wagoner, who recently came up short in his bid to seek a second term leading the growing municipality, said the city is “thrilled” to partner with Saint Alphonsus “today and into the future.”

“In our world today, our society, people need great and safe places to live,” Wagoner said. “This facility represents a big part of that.”

Prior to making the transition into law enforcement, Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram, worked many years as an EMT in Southern California. His relevant experiences on the medical side led him to quickly understand the “invaluable” role hospitals and medical facilities, such as the new Caldwell site, play within an expanding community.

“A safe prosperous community starts with healthy members of the community,” Ingram said. “Hospitals help provide that in a growing community such as Caldwell.”

While area patients will have direct access to both primary and urgent care, one feature the new site will not house is emergency room services. Patients seeking such access and services will need to utilize other local facilities.

“We have wonderful emergency services available for patients nearby should they need them,” Nassir said. “This facility will offer urgent care, but not a true emergency room.”

According to Nassir, the decision not to offer an ER came down to maintaining a focus on primary care services, as well as the impact of skyrocketing health care costs. “Any good medical facility is founded on primary care as the foundation. It’s imperative to have a physician or provider that knows your medical needs that can care for you from that standpoint.”

And with at least 100 advanced practice providers and support staff working in the new facility, patient care is expected to be wide and thorough, or a “team sport” as Nassir likes to describe the world of medicine.

“Medicine changes so rapidly, and today, keeping patients healthy means a partnership between your physician or care provider,” he said. “We bring that approach. We want to listen, and want patients to be felt, heard, understood, and for them to know they have a place to receive great care.”

An attitude now expressed in Saint Alphonsus’s newest tagline: “Bring It.” The two-word phrase, McFadyen explained, demonstrates the intention in which Saint Alphonsus operates collectively as health care professionals.

“We will bring our expertise, our grit and our heart every time you walk into our facilities,” he said. “We are driven to exceed your expectations and ensure the best possible care.”

Overseeing a health care system that was named one of Forbes Best Large Employers for 2025 and is comprised of more than 3,400 employed and independent providers, McFadyen stressed his understanding of how life can be stressful, creating a need for patients to take care of their physical, spiritual and overall well-being.
“We bring our best every day for the patients that show up in our facilities,” he said. “For our patients, when you need us, bring it to us. Bring your care issues, your heart, your challenges. And we’re going to care for you.”

“Regarding our grand promise to ‘bring it,’ we want this facility to be a partnership with our patients,” Nassir said. “We want to provide easy access, close to home, where patients can be seen, heard and allow us to partner with them in their health.”

Another unique aspect of the new facility is that the structure itself was built with “room to grow.” Designed with modular features, certain areas of the building can flex, move or even expand depending on future needs of the community.

“The facility is a large parcel, and based on population and patient needs, we can take a critical look at those factors and then we can build a strategy and a plan to build out from there,” Nassir said.

Limiting patient travel for specialty referrals, surgery and cardiology services, the new site, Nassir said, will also offer lab and X-ray services. Providing such access in the valley’s expanding west region is vital.

“We are proud to have our main hospital and specialists available in Boise, but we realize how important it is to build multi-disciplinary and multi-specialty facilities throughout the valley,” he said. “This plaza is a great example of our efforts to meet that need.”

For Travis Palmer, president and CEO of the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce, he proudly shared how he “eagerly” awaited the past two years for the completion and opening of the new facility, which began construction in November 2023.

“At the chamber, we believe you can’t have a healthy business community without a healthy workforce,” Plamer said. “This project will help fulfill some serious gaps, particularly keeping up with our unprecedented growth that creates such gaps.”

A fact not lost on Wagoner, who has watched his city’s population blossom during his time in the mayor’s office.

“The growth we have been experiencing the past 10 to 20 years has been unprecedented,” he said. “And it continues to go that way, making these facilities so needed for the public health of our community.”

And whether a community is big or small, Nassir remains focused on the hospital’s “incredible” mission to provide compassionate, transformative and healing care within any community it serves.

“We strongly believe this beautiful plaza helps us to fulfill that mission,” he said. “It helps us to bring our best to the community here in Canyon County and all the communities nearby.”