Montana

University of Montana launches Montana’s first public occupational therapy program

Published

1 year ago

September 21, 2024

University of Montana launches Montana’s first public occupational therapy program

MISSOULA — Kim McKearnan grew up in Great Falls and dreamed of becoming an occupational therapist. But the program wasn’t offered in Montana, so she wound up leaving Big Sky Country for over 20 years to pursue her calling.

Now she’s back home as founding director of the new Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program at the University of Montana. It’s the first such program in state history offered at a public institution of higher learning.

The new OTD program was approved to become a candidate for accreditation in April. It started accepting applications this summer, and the first occupational therapy students will start at UM in fall semester 2025.

“We’re planning to have 25 students in our first cohort,” McKearnan said. “We are starting a bit smaller as we fine-tune our processes and curriculum. Our intention is to grow to have 35 to 40 spots in the coming years.”

Occupational therapy is a wide-ranging career field that helps patients of all ages overcome challenges completing everyday tasks or activities.

Occupational therapists often work with patients with cognitive, physical, developmental or psychosocial disabilities. They work in hospitals, clinics, schools, homes, assisted-living or long-term care facilities, and a variety of other settings such as community centers or shelters

“OTDs can work with premature babies all the way up to older adults recovering from a stroke,” McKearnan said. “We literally care for people from birth to death.”

Montana has a significant need for more OTDs. According to state data from 2022, 12 Montana counties had no licensed occupational therapists. Data from 2023 said seven OT positions at Montana schools had gone unfilled or faced severely limited candidate pools.

The 2022 Montana Post-Secondary Workforce Report suggests 33 additional occupational therapy graduates will be needed annually through 2030.

To help address this need, the state’s Behavioral Health System for Future Generations Commission supported a $3.2 million investment to launch public OTD and physician associate programs at UM. (The first PA students will start on campus in fall 2026.)

“There is just an incredible need for occupational therapy services in Montana right now,” McKearnan said. “We’ve heard here in Missoula and across the state of wait lists for kids of six months or longer because there aren’t enough therapists to go around. That’s a period of development that you can’t get back, so you need to be able to get in and get those interventions. If you can’t get services, you don’t get to make up time in that really critical period.”

According to U.S. News and World Report, occupational therapists earn about $93,000 on average nationally. UM’s clinical doctorate program will take three years to complete, with the first graduates hitting the job market in 2028. It’s a graduate program, so applicants need to have earned a bachelor’s degree.

The OTD program also requires select prerequisite courses such as human anatomy and physiology, abnormal psychology and medical terminology. UM has readied pre-OTD advising for undergraduates to prep for the graduate program.

Speaking from her office UM’s Skaggs Building, McKearnan seems to revel in the challenge of launching a new UM graduate offering from scratch. OTD will be part of UM’s College of Health — specifically its School of Speech, Language, Hearing and Occupational Sciences.

OTD currently has two employees: McKearnan and Janna Smith, an assistant professor who serves as the new unit’s academic fieldwork coordinator. They expect to hire two to three additional OTD faculty members before next fall.

Smith, who also was forced to leave the state for her occupational therapy training, said Montana now has some OTD offerings from private colleges. However, UM intends to offer a more competitive price and take advantage of being nested among a larger university’s established programs.

“We are very fortunate to be situated in the College of Health, where we can do a lot of interprofessional education and clinical experiences,” Smith said. “We have the advantage of working with physical therapy, speech-language pathology, athletic training, social work, psychology and pharmacy. Working with those other departments is already planned as part of our curriculum.”

She said the first two years of the OTD program are largely in the classroom with shorter clinical experiences. After that, Smith will help arrange six months of supervised clinical experiences for students and then they will participate in a capstone experience.

These final capstones are tailored to the individual and could include everything from working at a neonatal intensive care unit to research or an advocacy project.

Historically, one could become an occupational therapist with a bachelor’s degree, and many programs later upgraded that requirement to a master’s. Now the industry standard is a clinical doctorate.

McKearnan said UM already offers an online pathway for working OTs wishing to upgrade their current degree to a doctorate.

“In school districts, you often can earn a wage increase by obtaining additional education or higher degrees,” she said. “You also might want the doctorate if you want to work in academia.”

McKearnan said it’s a competitive process to earn a spot in the University’s first OT class, and the tentative deadline is Nov. 1 to apply for one of the coveted 25 spots. She’s heard again and again from students who have waited years for such an opportunity.

One of those is Jennifer Malotte, a 2020 UM graduate in health and human performance, who works at Desmet Public School in Missoula.

“I heard that starting a UM Occupational Therapy program might happen back in 2020, and I’ve been working since then to get everything as ready as possible to apply,” she said. “I had considered moving or going out of state but decided to stay in Missoula when I realized they were going to start a program here.”

Malotte said she feels a calling to the profession.

“I see many kids who would benefit from occupational therapy – there is a big need for this profession,” she said. “I’ve talked with OTs, and they tell me about their high caseloads. I’ve always wanted to pursue a fulfilling career where I get to help people. I believe occupational therapy can truly improve a person’s quality of life, and I am looking forward to applying and hope it becomes my future career.”

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Montana

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

Published

3 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

ROUNDUP, Mont. —
The Rehder Creek Fire is burning 16 miles southeast of Roundup has grown to about 5,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders for residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision.

The fire started Feb. 26, the cause is unknown and containment was at 0%.

Evacuation orders are in effect for all residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision. The Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the evacuation orders, and 911 reverse calls have been sent out to advise people in the area.

A shelter is opening at the Roundup Community Center. Residents were told to contact Musselshell County DES for further information.

Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority. The public is asked to avoid the Fattig Creek and Rehder Road area so emergency personnel can safely and effectively perform their work.

Fire resources assigned to the incident include 40 total personnel, 11 engines, one Type 2 helicopter, three tenders and two dozers.

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Montana

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

Published

15 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.

This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.

The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.

“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:

We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.

Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”

Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.

According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.

One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.

At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.

In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.

Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.

ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.

Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.

We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.

The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.

Issues: Immigration

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