LEDE: 
TriState Health’s newest O-B-G-Y-N provider, Dr. Caroline Rolofson [ROLL-off-son] says she’s excited to help build up healthcare access in the Lewis-Clark Valley. N-W-P-B’s Rachel Sun reports.

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Staffing for maternity care in the Lewis-Clark Valley has been strained. In July, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center paused two nurse-midwives’ hospital privileges for about a month. 

They’re back now, thanks to new doctor Caroline Rolofson. Before, there weren’t enough doctors to support them for complicated deliveries. 

ROLOFSON: “ I'm here to help keep this community stocked with great resources.”

Rolofson, who plans to stay at least three years, says she hopes her presence will make the job more attractive to additional doctors.

ROLOFSON: “It's hard to be appealing to another doctor to say, ‘Hey, come join us. We have one other doctor here.’ But, ‘Oh, hey, come join us, we have three other doctors here,’ sounds a lot more appealing to a doctor. To join a one-in-four practice instead of a one-in-two practice.”

In Clarkston, Washington, I’m Rachel Sun.