Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital Expands of Pediatric Specialty Clinic

Demand for access to specialized care for children has grown, and Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Billings, Mont. recently completed a renovation and expansion of the Fortin Pediatric Specialty Clinic to those needs. This expansion was celebrated recently with a ribbon cutting ceremony with patients, donors, and caregivers. Generous donations totaling more than $1.4 million  from the Mary Alice Fortin Foundation, the Otto Bremer Trust, and support from individual donors made The renovation possible.

The expansion of the clinic was needed to accommodate growing patient needs. In recent years, the number of physicians on the pediatric specialty team has grown from seven to 20 specialists in cardiology, pulmonology, endocrine and diabetes, developmental and neurologic pediatric care.

“We are thankful for the generosity of the Mary Alice Fortin Foundation and the Otto Bremer Trust to allow us to continue our mission to meet the needs of the children and families in our communities,” shared Lee Boyles, President, St. Vincent Regional Hospital and Montana | Wyoming Market of Intermountain Health. “We understand the challenges that families face when they must travel to receive specialized care for their children when diagnosed with a serious or chronic condition. Our goal is always to keep as many kids as close to home as possible. With the renovation of the pediatric specialty clinic, we are taking the next step forward in providing cutting-edge, innovative pediatric care.”

The renovation and expansion of the clinic includes a child-friendly waiting and reception area, new physician and nurse workstations, a developmental pediatrics therapy room, echo, and ultrasound room, and eight additional exam rooms. The updates allow the pediatric specialty teams to operate more efficiently and provide more access to care for the most critically ill children. In recent years, St. Vincent has seen more than a 35 percent growth in the number of children seen at the pediatric specialty clinic.

Innovative Care Close to Home

These patients include Weston Sondeno, 17, of Big Timber who has been a patient of the pediatric cardiology team since he was an infant. During his annual exam, Dr. Hugh Bigg, pediatric cardiologist, noticed a change in Weston’s congenital heart condition that necessitated an open-heart heart valve procedure at Intermountain Health Primary Children’s Hospital. After a full and quick recovery, Sondeno is now excited to attend  Montana State University in the fall with no limitations on his quality of life. Weston and his family joined his caregivers for the ribbon cutting event.

It also includes, Allison Weldon, 8, from Butte who became the first child in Montana to receive an innovative treatment designed to delay the onset of Type I Diabetes under the expert care of the pediatric endocrinology team, including Dr. Anita Azam.

“It feels great to be able to offer this level of care here in Montana,” Dr. Azam said. “Our amazing team, including our medical assistants, nurses, hospitalists, and pharmacists at St. Vincent, is what has made it possible.”

The Mary Alice Fortin Foundation has long been one of the most significant supporters of growing pediatric care at St. Vincent and in Billings. In 2008, the foundation made a gift to establish Eastern Montana’s only pediatric intensive care unit at St. Vincent and the pediatric specialty clinic was opened in 2012 through a generous leadership gift. Through additional support, the foundation has expanded St. Vincent’s telemedicine capabilities, provided training for health care providers across our region in pediatric trauma and disease care, and launched the only pediatric surgery program in the region at St. Vincent.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a not-for-profit system of 34 hospitals, approximately 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.