Cowboy up, Montana — and mask up
Thank you to the Billings Gazette for the editorial on the work public health is doing to protect our communities. Please remember the 3 W’s – Wash Your Hands, Watch Your Distance, and Wear a Mask/Face Covering.
Rumors Fly about COVID-19
The risk of becoming infected with the new coronavirus disease known as COVID-19 is dependent on exposure, and right now, that risk in Montana is low. But the virus has produced a disturbing amount of misinformation, rumors and gossip spread as fact.
Public Health Protects Against Disease Outbreaks
The risk of a Billings resident contracting the new Coronavirus is unlikely, but not impossible. That’s why Public Health Services at RiverStone Health has been preparing since mid-January in cooperation with local hospitals, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
PAX Game Helps Children Regulate Behavior
Our director of Health Promotion was instrumental in introducing this approach in Billings Public Schools. A federal grant has expanded PAX across the state to train about 1,100 elementary school teachers.
Breathing Cleaner Air
During the last Legislative session, 12 Republicans and Democrats stopped an attack on a local rule to the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act.
Hospice Home Wedding Couple
Hospice staff organized a wedding for a couple who had been together for 35 years. After the groom asked the hospice chaplain if he could perform the ceremony, staff pitched in to organize makeup, hair, nails, wedding dress, flowers, food and a wedding cake.
Project Focuses on Neighborhood Improvements
Healthy By Design project focuses on strengthening South Side neighborhood by considering models to support a grocery store, public art and neighborhood history
Gathering Marks Homeless Memorial Day
With prayers in Spanish and English, hugs, tears and a smudging ceremony, Billings marked the Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day on the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year.
STD Rates Rising in Yellowstone County
Rates of sexually transmitted diseases have seen large increases. What can you do? Talk frankly to your healthcare provider about your risk factors and about getting tested.
Residencies Ease Montana’s Shortage of Primary Care Doctors
This Billings Gazette feature indicates the role medical residencies, like the Montana Family Medicine Residency, play in attracting physicians to settle in Montana. Of MFMR’s 129 graduates since 1998, 75 of the physicians are practicing in Montana.
