MISSOULA – The University of Montana’s Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana received a $750,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop new residency training sites for family physicians. 

The program is one of 15 throughout the country to receive an award to develop new residency programs in rural communities.

“We are grateful to HRSA and the RRPD for funding our proposal to expand residency training in Montana,” said Rob Stenger, the residency program director. “Our state has a significant need for physicians in rural and underserved communities that will only grow as our population grows and currently practicing physicians retire.”

The three-year award will support the development of residency training sites in Butte and Helena, in partnership with St. James Hospital and Southwest Community Health Center in Butte and St. Peters Health and PureView Health Center in Helena. 

FMRWM currently partners with Community Medical Center, Greater Valley Health Center, Logan Health Medical Center, Partnership Health Center and Providence St. Patrick Hospital to train residents in Missoula and Kalispell. With the planned expansion, FMRWM will grow from training 30 residents each year to training at least 39 residents  annually.

The proposed new training sites in Butte and Helena will focus on full-scope family medicine, including obstetrical training, similar to the Missoula and Kalispell training programs.

The need for additional physicians in Montana is clear. As of April, 52 of 56 counties in Montana are either entirely or partially designated as primary care health professional shortage areas and 50% of counties are defined as maternity care deserts. FMRWM strives to train compassionate and clinically competent family physicians to serve patients and communities in these rural and underserved areas of Montana.

The UM-based residency program welcomed its inaugural class of 10 residents in 2013 and partnered with a core group of nine rural training sites. Eleven years later, FMRWM now partners with 17 rural training sites throughout western Montana and soon will graduate its ninth class of family medicine physicians. Over 60% of graduates have gone on to practice in rural and underserved areas, and 65% have remained in Montana.

“Family Physicians are the ideal health care providers for rural and underserved communities because of their broad scope of training,” Stenger said. “We seek to train physicians able to meet the needs of small Montana communities – from primary medical and mental health care to emergency medicine and obstetrics.”  

FMRWM is a three-year family medicine residency program sponsored by UM and affiliated with the University of Washington Family Medicine Residency Network. The program is located at Partnership Health Center in Missoula and Greater Valley Health Center in Kalispell, where residents provide ongoing primary care services.

Rural partners include Barrett Hospital and HealthCare, Dillon; Blackfeet Community Hospital, Browning; Central Montana Medical Center, Lewistown; Clark Fork Valley Hospital, Plains; Community Hospital of Anaconda; Deer Lodge Medical Center; Eureka Healthcare; Madison Valley Medical Center, Ennis; Bitterroot Health, Hamilton; Northwest Community Health Center, Libby; Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, Polson; Ruby Valley Medical Center, Sheridan; St. Luke Community Hospital, Ronan; St. James Medical Group & Southwest Montana Community Health Center, Butte; StoryBrook Medicine, Stevensville; and Tribal Health of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, St. Ignatius.

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