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1/24/2025

“Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to kfairbanks@montanafreepress.org.

PHC will explore adding evening, weekend hours to better serve the community 

The Partnership Health Center this month received a $500,000 federal grant to pilot expanded clinic hours to increase patients’ access to care. 

The money from the Health Resources and Services Administration aims to address challenges families face in accessing health care, according to a press release. As a federally qualified health center, PHC receives most of its funding from HRSA and after the two-year grant, the money will hopefully be rolled into the organization’s base budget, said Becca Goe, PHC’s chief innovations officer. 

“This is something PHC has talked about for a while,” she said. “It’s nice to see it come to fruition through these additional funds. … It’s another way to expand access to folks, meeting people where they’re at.” 

PHC offers primary care, dental, behavioral health and pharmacy services, runs programs bringing health care to the community and helps patients connect to other resources, such as housing. The organization provides care regardless of insurance or ability to pay. 

While patients have said evening or weekend hours would be convenient, the funding allows PHC to more formally study when and where to expand and what services to offer, said Lara Salazar, the organization’s CEO. 

“If we had a Saturday clinic would it be more of the same-day type of needs, or is it behavioral health?” Salazar said. “We’re trying to assess the impact and need.” 

Although Missoula has several health care providers, there is enough unmet need in the community to consider expanding access, Salazar said. 

The organization is considering adding evening and weekend hours to serve patients who can’t make it in during standard weekday hours because of work schedules, childcare availability and other barriers, Goe said. PHC will roll out the new hours within the next year, she said. 

PHC will assess the benefits of expanding hours at its main clinic in the Creamery Building downtown or at its six other sites that may serve a more specific population, Salazar said 

For example, staff have heard that adding Monday evening hours at the organization’s newest clinic at the Watershed Navigation Center will help serve people getting out of jail, which is located nearby, Goe said. 

“It’s exciting to be in a position to look at those things and see where we can have an impact for our target populations,” she said.

Even if hours are only expanded at the main clinic, patients of other locations could still access services through telehealth appointments, Salazar said. 

The expanded hours will ideally allow people to get care at the clinic rather than go to the hospital emergency room, Goe said. 

Medicaid has done some “exciting work” to better fund crisis response and other programs that divert people from more expensive hospital and jail stays, Salzar said. Broader clinic hours are one way PHC can continue those efforts and focus resources to save costs overall, she said. 

The grant will fund PHC’s ramp up of expanded hours, which should become more sustainable over time, Goe said. 

“It comes down to meeting people where they are at and helping people feel comfortable accessing services at PHC,” she said. 

Public Notice 

The Missoula County Public Schools board will consider the first draft of an “electronic acceptable use” policy on Tuesday, Jan. 28. 

The first reading of the proposal marks the next step in the district’s effort to create a new district-wide smartphone policy, following a discussion in November. 

The policy was informed by a staff, students and parent survey conducted in October and provides some options for the board to consider, said Superintendent Micah Hill during the Jan. 14 board meeting. The proposal was reviewed by legal counsel, he said. 

The district’s current policy states that schools may regulate the use of devices while on school property and that use in the classroom is at the teacher’s discretion. A group of parents and teachers concerned about the effect of smartphones on students’ education largely spurred the effort to update the policy.

The school board meeting begins at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the Administration Building A boardroom, 909 South Ave. W. in Missoula. Missoula Community Access Television (MCAT) will livestream the meeting on its Facebook page. 

5 Things to Know in Missoula 

On Thursday, the Missoula County commissioners approved spending up to $100,000 to complete the design and engineering for two trail projects. The money comes from the 2014 Missoula City-County Parks and Trails bond. The Blue Mountain Connector Trail will run parallel to Blue Mountain Road and link the Bitterroot Trail, along U.S. Highway 93, with the Blue Mountain Recreation Area. The second project will add about 2.3 new miles to the Mullan Road Trail from Cote Lane to Deschamps Lane. Once engineering is complete, the county will apply for grant funding to pay for construction, said Bethany Gunther, Parks and Trails project specialist. 

The state awarded the city of Missoula $391,270 from a $7 million federal grant to help speed up the construction of affordable housing. The Department of Commerce will use $5 million of the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program funding to partner with the Montana League of Cities and Towns and 11 cities, including Missoula. The department will use the remaining $2 million to establish a housing technical assistance program, which will include incentives for housing developers. The money will help the city of Missoula more quickly create a new unified development code, the Missoula Current reported. 

Habitat for Humanity of Missoula is seeking volunteers to work on its jobsite on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. No construction experience is needed, but volunteers are asked to bring close-toed shoes. Those interested can sign up online or stop by the jobsite on the alley side of 1918 Burlington Ave. The organization is building the Mariposa Commons triplex, which broke ground last February. 

North Missoula Community Development Corporation Executive Director Brittany Palmer was selected for a fellows program to help civic leaders tackle issues facing cities — including housing, climate, land, water, finance and infrastructure. The Claremont Lincoln University and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy selected 60 for the spring 2025 cohort of the Lincoln Vibrant Communities Fellows Program, according to a press release. Palmer, who joined the land trust organization in 2020, said she is “thrilled to have the opportunity to engage with content experts and other leaders from across the country over the next six months and to apply what I learn to my work in Missoula with the NMCDC.” 

Voting is open for the city of Missoula’s snowplow naming contest. The Public Works and Mobility Department narrowed down the 388 submissions to 20 names, and voters can choose their top three. Residents can vote online until Feb. 4. The winner will be announced during the Feb. 10 City Council meeting. 

In Case You Missed It  

Missoula naturopathic doctor Christine White Deeble is raising concerns about the upcoming sentencing of a former patient who threatened her and her clinic. In December, a jury found Daniel Kovats guilty of felony intimidation, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. White Deeble believes Kovats is unlikely to get that sentence but hopes he will get enough time to offer her a reprieve from worrying he will come back to the clinic. Read the full story here.

On Campus 

Community members and Griz supporters are invited to the University of Montana’s winter pep rally and bonfire. 

The rally will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday in the University Center and on the Oval between the Lady Griz and men’s basketball games against Montana State. 

The University Center will have free games in the gaming den, face-painting and sign-making stations with Griz student-athletes. There will also be free snacks, food for purchase and a beer garden available. The bonfire and fireworks will begin at 5:30 p.m. on the Oval. 

The Lady Griz take on MSU at 2 p.m. and the men’s basketball game begins at 7 p.m. Both games are in the Adams Center, and tickets are available for purchase online.