Billings Clinic chosen to provide medical care in West Yellowstone
West Yellowstone, MT— Billings Clinic will provide medical care to the community of West Yellowstone and the surrounding area beginning January 2023 after the West Yellowstone Town Council has awarded their health care services to the regional health system. Under the agreement, the West Yellowstone clinic building will become the site of a Billings Clinic satellite clinic beginning Jan. 1, 2023.
Earlier this year, the Town of West Yellowstone sought proposals for the delivery of health care services to the greater West Yellowstone community. The council voted unanimously in May to select Billings Clinic to provide health care services after Jan 1, 2023. On July 19, the Town Council approved the contractual arrangement that outlines the specific details and officially grants Billings Clinic the service agreement.
“West Yellowstone has a history of prioritizing health care for the community, and we have built a great foundation. This partnership with Billings Clinic seeks to take local care to the next level,” said Kyle Goltz, Chair for the Healthcare Services Advisory Board in West Yellowstone. Goltz and the other members of the Healthcare Services Advisory Board reviewed all proposals submitted to the Town of West Yellowstone and made a recommendation to Town Council.
“This partnership brings improved, reliable, and local access to medical professionals and diagnostic testing to the residents and visitors in the Town of West Yellowstone and the greater Hebgen Basin,” said Town Council Member Lisa Griffith. “Billings Clinic provided a vision for enabling the Town of West Yellowstone to enhance the level of local and affordable health care available to our residents and visitors throughout the year. That vision was resounding and made Billings Clinic our top choice.”
As many as 400,000 visitors pass through West Yellowstone each month during the summer. With the next closest hospital 50 miles away, making sure the medical needs of patients – residents, visitors and seasonal workers alike – in the community are addressed locally is vital.
Billings Clinic West Yellowstone will provide family medicine for all ages, same-day service for acute injuries and illness, occupational health, x-ray and laboratory services in the existing clinic space. As a fully integrated branch clinic, this also includes Billings Clinic’s integrated electronic medical record used across all its locations for streamlined communication and easy, safe access to clinical information to optimize care for patients.
“Providing care locally to the community and surrounding area is a top priority for Billings Clinic and we are excited to work with West Yellowstone to do that,” said Clint Seger, MD, Billings Clinic Regional Chief Medical Officer. “The West Yellowstone Town Council has been passionate from the start about addressing the unique and specific needs of the community, and we look forward to both keeping people close to home for their care and joining the community.”
Billings Clinic has 20 affiliate and branch clinic locations across Montana and Wyoming and this clinic will become Billings Clinic’s eighth fully integrated regional location. Of note, West Yellowstone will join three other affiliated facilities surrounding Yellowstone National Park in Red Lodge, Livingston and Cody, WY. Other branch locations include Billings Clinic Heights and West (Billings), Stillwater Billings Clinic (Columbus), Billings Clinic Cody (Cody, Wyo.), Billings Clinic Miles City (Miles City), Billings Clinic Broadwater (Townsend), and Billings Clinic Bozeman (Bozeman). Staff, providers, and patients will have access to the expertise and resources of the region’s largest independent health system.
The clinic will be housed in the current West Yellowstone clinic building. While the clinic operations will be owned and operated by Billings Clinic, the Town of West Yellowstone has agreed to share in the financial risk by making a contribution towards operational losses. This arrangement makes it feasible to provide these health care services that may otherwise be cost prohibitive.
“Having medical providers that can effectively work to address local needs is important for the community,” Griffith said. “The Town of West Yellowstone makes a significant financial contribution each year to facilitate local and affordable health care services. Billings Clinic’s commitment to heightening the level of services provided allowed the Town Council to feel confident that it was making the best selection to meet community needs.”
