Montana
St. James hospital in Butte losing surgeons, union raises concerns about workers, patients – Daily Montanan
St. James Healthcare in Butte appears to have lost more than half of its surgeons in the last year, and the Montana Nurses Association is urging Intermountain Health — which runs the hospital following a 2022 merger — to prioritize retention of critical health care providers.
Roughly one year ago, the hospital counted nine or 10 surgeons, and it has just four after Intermountain failed to retain three in contract negotiations and two others retired, according to the Montana Nurses Association.
“This is a really big impact” for surgical services, said Robin Haux, labor program director for the Montana Nurses Association.
St. James counts 67 beds in southwest Montana and is the only acute care facility in the region, according to information from Intermountain Health. A story about the merger from NBC Montana said it served nearly 40,000 members of the community in 2022; Intermountain did not provide an updated figure.
In an email Friday, Intermountain Health did not dispute the union’s count of the more than 50% decrease in surgeons in the last year. In response to a question about plans and a timeline for filling positions in Butte, Intermountain emailed a statement with remarks from an interim president.
“We are excited to welcome several new providers across various specialties to St. James and Intermountain Health in the coming months,” said Pam Palagi, interim president of St. James Hospital, in a statement from an Intermountain media relations manager. “Those specialties include neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, endocrinology and walk-in care.”
Intermountain Health’s corporate offices are based in Utah. Its website says it works in seven states including Montana and at 33 hospitals and 385 clinics. It touts that it is “reimagining health care,” offers “pioneering research,” provides personal and affordable care, and is a partner with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The merger between Intermountain Health and SCL Health created the 11th largest nonprofit health care system in the U.S., according to NBC. At the time, the former president of St. James said patients would see a logo change as a result, but they could expect to see a high level of care continue.
“The great quality care that you are used to receiving will stay the same, and how you access and utilize our services will not change,” said then-President Jay Doyle in 2022 to NBC.
Friday, however, Haux and Montana Nurses Association labor representative Emily Peterson said patients already are seeing impacts from the departures of providers. The lost doctors who have not been replaced include a urologist and gastroenterologist.
Peterson said the hospital recently had to reschedule three weeks’ worth of procedures for patients after Intermountain lost one surgeon. She said it canceled two weeks of appointments after it lost another.
“That is one big concern for our nurses,” Peterson said. “They know these patients need help, and it was more upsetting to them that the patients that needed procedures weren’t getting them than it was for them to not get their hours.”
However, the union is seeing employees have hours cut or have to take eight to 12 hours of paid time off a week. And without needed providers and a full schedule, they worry about the potential for staff cuts in the future.
“It is causing a lot of concern with the nurses and the surgical techs,” Peterson said.
A petition launched Friday asks Intermountain, a nonprofit healthcare system that describes itself as the largest in the intermountain West, to address the crisis by prioritizing the retention of providers, strengthening their contracts, and keeping registered nurses and other staff in Butte.
The Montana Nurses Association has roughly 25 nurses in surgical services at St. James and 132 members at the hospital altogether. The Teamsters of the Montana AFL-CIO represent additional staff such as CNAs, or certified nursing assistants.
“This is really about protecting the ability to provide high quality care and really vital services and vital care to the community,” Haux said.
To fill one gap, a traveling doctor is slated to help temporarily, but at a high cost, Peterson said.
Dr. Nathaniel Readal, a urologist, said Friday he declined to sign a new contract with Intermountain because he believes some of the language in the agreement put him at risk legally.
Most surgical specialists are generally required to take seven to 10 days a month of being on call, but in Butte Readal said he took an average of 270 to 300 days a year. That means staying within 30 minutes of the hospital and being available to deal with an emergency; in other words, it means no skiing, fishing, beer or golf.
“I take more call because there’s nobody else to do it. We have a pretty large patient base,” Readal said.
But he said he interpreted some of the language in the contract to suggest he would have to be on call and available basically around the clock and every day for existing patients he had cared for in the past.
If such a patient came in with an acute issue and Readal was, say, skiing and unreachable, he said he could be at medical legal risk as the agreement was drafted. He didn’t quibble with compensation, he said, but he requested language in the contract that would protect him legally, and Intermountain did not provide it.
“That was the thing they were unwilling to change and why I would not sign the contract,” said Readal, who had signed previous contracts before the merger.
A story about Readal in the Montana Standard in 2018 said he completed his medical degree and residency at renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and was working to make healthcare better and more accessible at St. James. In a way, the story said he represented the “future of Butte.”
The story said he and his wife were already a part of the community. Friday, however, Readal, said he is evaluating all his options for the future, in part because standard healthcare contracts make it difficult to remain in a community and care for patients if a provider doesn’t want to work for the medical group that staffs the hospital, or Intermountain in this case.
In the email from Intermountain, Palagi said the industry comes with some churn.
“Transitions in hospital leadership and physicians are common in the healthcare industry,” Palagi said. “At St. James, we prioritize continuity of care and employ robust recruitment strategies to ensure smooth transitions and maintain high standards of patient care.
“ … The bottom line is that St. James Hospital and Intermountain Health remain committed to ensuring the residents of Butte and southwest Montana have access to top-notch, patient-centered care right here in their home community.”
The Montana Nurses Association said the administration at St. James wants to protect frontline employees such as nurses, CNAs, and other staff. Haux said they know how hard it is to replace those positions.
“But we also know they will not be able to continue this without providers and without a full schedule,” she said.
Haux said the petition does not force action by Intermountain. However, the Montana Nurses Association and Teamsters of the Montana AFL-CIO may pursue other options that would put pressure on the healthcare system if leaders do not respond.
“I don’t think … that will sit well with the Butte community if they choose not to respond,” Haux said. “That’s a very tight, close-knit community.”
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Nationally ranked Montana State defeated Northern Colorado for the 11th-straight game with a 55-17 win Saturday in a Big Sky Conference football game at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman.
Sophomore wide receiver Taco Dowler had 207 all-purpose yards for the 6-0 Bobcats, who came into the homecoming game ranked third in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll from Sept. 30.
Northern Colorado lost for the sixth time in six games this season, and the program losing streak extended to 18 games dating to November 2022.
UNC’s last win was a 21-20 victory Nov. 12, 2022 over Big Sky opponent Northern Arizona at Nottingham Field in Greeley. The program’s current losing streak began the following week with a 45-21 loss to Eastern Washington in Cheney, Washington.
Northern Colorado’s last win over Montana State was 17 years ago, a 16-13 victory Oct. 27, 2007 in Greeley.
Montana State led 27-0 at halftime on three touchdowns from Bobcats’ quarterback Tommy Mellott and a 34-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Ty McCullouch to Dowler. Mellott threw two touchdown passes in the first half and ran for another.
Dowler and Mellott connected for a 72-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Dowler added 102 yards on punt returns. McCullouch caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Mellott midway through the third quarter to give the Bobcats a 34-0 lead.
Mellott was 8 of 12 for 225 yards passing. He accounted for five touchdowns against the Bears with four passing touchdowns. Mellott has 12 passing touchdowns this season and five rushing touchdowns. He has not thrown an interception.
Montana State totaled 510 yards of offense, averaging eight yards per play in scoring a season-high in points. Running back Scottre Humphrey ran for 81 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown.
“We didn’t play very disciplined on defense,” UNC coach Ed Lamb said in a text message. “It cost us dearly. MSU had too many big plays for us to overcome. Particularly with the poor field position caused by a slow start on offense and poor punt coverage.”
Montana State hosts fellow Big Sky undefeated Idaho (2-0, 4-2) Oct. 12 at Bobcat Stadium. The Vandals, ranked 10th in FCS last week, beat No. 25 Northern Arizona 23-17 at home Saturday in Moscow.
UNC got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter on a 14-yard pass from running back Caden Meis to Carver Cheeks, a defensive back-turned wide receiver. Meis also has two rushing touchdowns this season.
Sophomore wide receiver Brayden Munroe scored on a 28-yard reception from Kia’i Keone with 2-minutes, 7 seconds left in third, and Hunter Green kicked a 29-yard field goal early in the fourth for the Bears.
Green punted seven times for 321 yards with a long of 60 yards and an average of 45.9 yards per punt.
Munroe caught five passes for 84 yards. He is the Bears’ leading receiver this season with 20 catches for 267 yards.
Tight end Cash Cheeks, Carver’s brother, had four catches for 71 yards. Carver Cheeks finished with three catches for 46 yards.
UNC’s offense was statistically more productive than in any other game this season. The Bears’ 356 yards of total offense was four yards short of its season-best of 360 in the first game at University of Incarnate Word.
“We can build on some of the fight and effort displayed by the offense,” Lamb said.
Keone was 17 of 29 for 247 yards with a touchdown and an interception. In his first start at UNC, Keone’s 247 passing yards were the most by a Bears quarterback this season.
A graduate student transfer from Pacific Palisades, Hawaii, Keone was the fifth starting quarterback for UNC this season because of injuries.
Peter Costelli, who was selected as the starter before the season, injured his knee late against Colorado State in the second game of the year.
The Bears then worked in Jonah Chong, Hank Gibbs and Kaiden Box as starters with Keone, though, seeing significant playing time through the first five games.
The Bears had 95 yards rushing, which was their second lowest total of the season. UNC rushed for 87 yards last week against Cal Poly.
UNC’s next game is Oct. 12 at Weber State. Weber State (2-0 Big Sky, 3-3 overall), beat defending conference champion Montana 55-48 in overtime Saturday in Missoula. Montana (1-1, 4-2) came into the game ranked eighth nationally last week.
Originally Published:
The Lewis & Clark County Sheriff’s Office is searching for an adult female horseback rider in the McMaster Hills Recreation Area several miles northeast of Helena.
Search & Rescue units from Lewis & Clark County and Jefferson County are on the ground.
Drones from several law enforcement agencies are searching by air.
A helicopter from Great Falls has also been called in to assist.
Officials will be active in the recreation area throughout the majority of the day.
If you have information or would like to offer assistance, please call 406-219-7380.
No other details have been released at this point, including the name of the missing woman.
We will update you if we get more information.
John and Carol Murray left their home in Two Medicine earlier this week for the Blackfoot Confederacy Conference in Wyoming. Once they arrived, they received a call from their grandson telling them their home and everything in it had been lost in a devastating fire.
Browning family’s home burns in electrical fire
Married for 51 years, the two have spent decades working to preserve tribal culture. John serves as a Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, and was awarded the Governor’s Humanities Award in 2017, and was inducted into the Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2023.
Carol previously served as the President of Blackfeet Community College, and was awarded an honorary Doctorate from the University of Montana for her commitment to preserving Native American heritage through education.
Five days after the fire, John and Carol are now traveling back to Two Medicine from their trip to Wyoming, not having seen what remains of their family home.
John and Carol’s grandson Myles also lives in the home with his girlfriend and their young daughter. They were home when the house caught on fire the night of September 30th.
They managed to escape with their lives, barreling through the toxic smoke, but could save nothing in the process.
John Murray says, “Myles called and said smoke was coming out from under the house. He tried to fight the fire, you know, with the hose, and it was just too much. We realized that material things can be replaced, and we just will be forever grateful that they didn’t get trapped in there”.
The fire is suspected to have been an electrical fire, and volunteer fire departments and law enforcement from Heart Butte, Browning, and Glacier County worked to subdue the fire.
Angela HeavyRunner
John and Carol’s daughter, and Myle’s mother, Angela HeavyRunner lived close by, and was on the scene as the home burned.
She explains, “The smoke was so thick. And we’ve been trying to understand what the feelings are that we felt…and the helplessness, the helplessness and and still being hopeful at the same time was what we were initially feeling”.
John and Carol are nervously anticipating their return to the site of their home, to assess the damage, and figure out what to do next.
Carol says, “I’m kind of anxious to get home, so that it’s real. I’ve been involved in ceremony for many, many years. And one of the things that was taught to me was to be calm, and to be patient, and to let the creator know what I’m afraid of, and that things will all work out for us.”
John and Carol’s friends and family members set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to collect donations that go toward clothing, blankets, and basic necessities to help with their traumatic loss.
Carol says, “People who anonymously are donating, we don’t even know who they are, but we just really appreciate it, because we have to build a new house. I want to express my appreciation for people that are very concerned and helping”.
Click here if you would like to make a donation.
GoFundMe
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