Montana
Search underway for 3 people missing after avalanche hits Idaho back country
MULLAN, Idaho (AP) — A search was underway Thursday night for three people caught in an avalanche in the Idaho back country, authorities said.
The avalanche was recorded near Stevens Peak near the Montana border, authorities said.
The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office said a search and rescue effort was underway with help from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Air Force.
Authorities did not say what the three people were doing in the area, which is several miles southwest of the Lookout Peak ski area and more than 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Missoula, Montana.
The area had been under an avalanche danger warning for several days because of snowfall and blowing winds that have created unstable conditions on high, steep slopes.
The Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center warned that avalanches triggered by human activity “remain likely” on steeper terrain.
The avalanche came a day after the first U.S. avalanche death of the season was reported in California. An avalanche roared through a section of expert trails at the Palisades Tahoe ski resort near Lake Tahoe on Wednesday morning, trapping four people and killing one.
A second avalanche struck the same area near Lake Tahoe on Thursday but there were no reported casualties.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
For many Montanans living in rural communities, accessing specialized healthcare isn’t as simple as booking an appointment. It can mean hours on the road to cities like Great Falls. But a growing outreach effort from health care like Benefis Health System is changing that reality by bringing providers directly to patients.
Brianna Juneau reports – watch the video here:
Providers travel to bring specialty care to Montana communities
Instead of requiring long-distance travel, Benefis doctors and advanced practice providers are hitting the road, delivering care in towns across North Central Montana. The goal: reduce barriers to access and ensure patients receive timely treatment closer to home.
“In this geographic area, sometimes some of the more medically complex children are seen by pediatricians,” said pediatrician Rachel Amthor. “It can be an opportunity to try to reach some children with medical complexity who do live in a rural area.”
That access can be especially impactful for young patients. In some communities, clinics are located near schools, allowing children to attend appointments without missing an entire day of class.
“There’s very much a community atmosphere with the clinic,” Amthor said. “I’ll have some patients walk from school during the day to come to their checkup and then walk back. They don’t have to miss a lot of school because everything is so close.”
But for many adults, particularly those working in agriculture, traveling for care can be a major obstacle.
“They either have to arrange transportation or they don’t drive at all—it’s an ordeal,” said Elizabeth O’Connor, a cardiothoracic nurse practitioner. “Some of our patients travel for a whole day to get here and back, or they have to spend the night. A lot of farmers and ranchers just can’t leave their property for that long.”
By bringing services into rural towns, providers can catch health issues earlier and make critical adjustments before conditions worsen.
“We’re able to make some simple adjustments in their medications that may prevent heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, admissions,” O’Connor said. “Providing access can certainly improve—if not longevity—the quality of their life.”
Benefis’ outreach clinics now serve a wide range of communities, offering specialty care that would otherwise require travel:
Choteau: Cardiology, OBGYN, Podiatry, Pediatrics
Fort Benton: Pediatrics, Cardiology, Podiatry, Dietician/Nutrition services, Diabetes Education, Functional Medicine and Hormone Replacement Therapy
Conrad: Cardiology
Cut Bank: Women’s Health
Havre: Nephrology and Neurology
Rocky Boy: Women’s Health and Nephrology
Shelby: Orthopedics
White Sulphur Springs: Women’s health
Lewistown: Orthopedics and Dermatology
Browning: Nephrology
Many of these services are critical for managing chronic conditions, ranging from heart disease to kidney disorders, where consistent follow-up care can significantly impact outcomes.
For providers like Amthor, the outreach effort is deeply personal.
“I became a pediatrician because I wanted to treat kids in underserved areas,” she said. “I was not expecting to be working in rural Montana, but that has been different and very good.”
As the program continues to grow, Benefis leaders say they hope to expand services even further, reaching more communities and reducing healthcare disparities across the state.
In places where distance has long defined access, these traveling clinics are helping ensure that quality care is no longer out of reach, but right down the road.
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