Rural Healthcare

Gov. Schweitzer, Madison County & Ennis Break Ground for New Clinic

By David Nolt, 8-30-07

	Above: Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer helps break ground at the Madison Valley Hospital and Clinic in Ennis. Below: The design of the new hospital.

Striving to meet the needs of this growing valley, the Madison Valley Hospital and Clinic broke ground on the construction of an over $10 million hospital in Ennis this past Tuesday. Well over 100 people attended the ceremony at the construction site adjacent to the existing and humble Madison Valley Clinic, including Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and representatives from the offices of Senators Baucus and Tester as well as Rep. Rehberg.

Governor Schweitzer spoke briefly at the beginning of the ceremony, calling Madison County “one of the most vibrant communities in Montana.” However, Schweitzer’s comments related to healthcare were limited to emphasizing the importance of the health of a community and that “the best healthcare is the healthcare that’s closest to your family.”

When pressed after his speech on what is being done to improve healthcare in Montana’s other less vibrant communities—in particular, communities that do not benefit from as many tourist dollars as Madison County, such as in eastern Montana and in the state’s seven Indian reservations—Schweitzer responded, “The best thing we can do for every one of these communities is to grow jobs” with things like biodiesel and “clean coal” technology.

In November 2004 the Madison Valley Hospital and Clinic board of directors unanimously voted to build a new hospital to replace the “dated” 57-year old existing clinic. The new hospital will be funded by borrowing $6.5 million, and the remaining $3.875 million will be generated by private donations in the community. So far the community donated $2.5 million, which will be enough to complete phase one of the two-phase construction. The hospital hopes to have phase one finished by the fall of 2008.

Sam Korsmoe, executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Council, sees the new hospital in grand terms.

“In a way, what we hope this hospital will be is a model rural hospital for the country and the West,” Korsmoe said.

Korsmoe admits Madison County fortunately benefits from substantial tourism dollars, but explains other communities can tailor their healthcare needs with available funds.

“We’re lucky, there’s no doubt about that,” Korsmoe said. “We’re in a place of growth, but it doesn’t have to be a $10 million facility to serve a community.”

Korsmoe said the new hospital will make very efficient use of space and will end up costing roughly $210 per square foot. The hospital will have two levels and will encompass 36,470 square feet.

Jaye Swoboda M.D. is one of two doctors at the Madison Valley Clinic, and he says, although the new hospital will bring many opportunities, the level of care given will not improve because of a new hospital.

“It will make it look better and feel better,” Swoboda said. “It’s long overdue, but it does nothing about the quality of care that’s delivered here…We have to just keep getting better and better every day. I am under no illusion after watching hospitals all across this country go belly-up because they don’t deliver quality care. By the time we [the current staff and the new hospital] come together in 2008, our goal is to have the best rural care hospital in Montana, and I think we can do it.”

Rural hospitals and clinics face unique challenges as distance and limited healthcare capacities force caregivers to make vital decisions on where and when to send patients to larger facilities. Rural caregivers must also face the stigma that quality care can’t be given in a rural setting.

“The biggest challenge I have has been overcoming the lack of trust in our healthcare system,” Swoboda explained, though he says several of his patients who own second homes in Madison County now come to him for their primary care as opposed to their other doctors in larger urban settings.

Dave Hajny, chairman of the Madison Valley Hospital Foundation, opened the ceremony by saying “The importance of this project cannot be overestimated…When the unexpected happens, you can be assured you get the best healthcare possible. This project is proof that success breeds success.”

Neil Kent, chairman of the Madison Valley Hospital Governing Board of Directors, closed the ceremony by recapping the history of healthcare in the Madison Valley. Kent told the story of Dr. “Doc” Ron Losee and his wife Olive who came to the Madison Valley in 1949 and eventually agreed to stay and practice if the community converted the existing physician’s home and office into a hospital. They completed the conversion in 1950 and “Doc” Losee has been practicing in Madison County ever since (Losee still performs tennis elbow surgeries). Losee’s work in orthopedics became internationally recognized, and he eventually wrote a book, “Doc,” recapping his experiences in Madison County.

After the ceremony, Losee walked around from conversation to conversation with his secretary Danette Clark, who Losee delivered on his birthday in 1952. Losee agreed with Dr. Swoboda that the new hospital alone will not ensure top quality care in Ennis.

“It will depend on the brains within the building,” Losee said. “We have a good start with Doctors Swoboda and Sharp and the wonderful laboratory and nursing staff.”

Dr. Cindy Sharp and her husband have had a vacation home in Madison County for years, but she was inspired to move to Ennis to practice rural healthcare after reading Losee’s book.

“Just the ability to be a part of this community attracted us,” Sharp explained.

Sharp added, aside from benefiting from tourist dollars, the communities of Ennis and Madison County were instrumental in making the new hospital a reality.

Lenore Fasules spends her summers in Madison County and recently received care at the Madison Valley Clinic for a broken pelvis bone and wrist. Although she said she received great care at the clinic, she testified firsthand for the need for a new hospital.

“I think it’s an expanding valley and we need an expanding clinic and hospital,” Fasules said. “I think it’s necessary.”

For others, such as Lewis Stahl—who spent six months as a Madison County Commissioner before stepping down after doctors at the Madison Valley Clinic discovered a brain tumor—early detection and transfer to a larger hospital helped save his life.

“They’ve done real good by me,” Stahl said matter-of-factly. “The new hospital will help a lot, especially the telemedicine, which will help diagnose people like me. I may have gone way too long without being diagnosed.”

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