Montana

Partnership Health Center receives grant to expand hours

Published

1 year ago

January 24, 2025

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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.

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

6 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

18 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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