Distinctly Montana Magazine

32 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 3 - 2 4 1965 A new eight-story Deaconess Hospital opens with the state's first intensive care unit and then the first neonatal intensive care unit. 2001 An era of growth begins with the building of a Peace Hospice of Montana home, then Sletten Cancer Institute (2005), South Tower (2009), the Orthopedic Center of Montana (2010), Medical Office Building 4 (2011), The Grandview (2013), and the Women's and Children's Center (2021). 2017 Benefis Sletten Cancer Institute acquires the first Varian Edge Radiosurgery System in Montana to provide precise targeting of tumors. 1900 Columbus Hospital acquires its first X-ray machine. Benefis Health System: On the Trail of 132 Years of Innovation and Excellence This year, Benefis Health System celebrates a 132-year journey from two frontier healing missions to a modern healthcare system – the work of generations of healers, supporters, and the patients who trusted Columbus and Deaconess hospitals for treatment and then Benefis after the two entities merged. Imagine what those pioneers begging for cots from the community and decades away from the use of general anesthesia would make of the knowledge, skills, and tools Benefis now uses to care for patients. Surgery robots, targeted radiation, advanced imaging, new and renovated buildings, a Mercy Flight helicopter and medical jet, as well as a dedicated, compassionate, and highly trained workforce improve the health of our entire 14-county region. Cutting-edge care close to home matters. Let's travel through some of the greatest clinical technological advances at Benefis. 1983 The hospitals team up to launch Mercy Flight, an air ambulance with a shared helicopter. Thirteen years later, the hospitals merge to form Benefis. 2017 An investment in a first-generation Da Vinci Xi robotic system for general surgeons, gynecologists, and urologists improves surgeons' abilities to see and use their hands. Now Benefis has two second- generation Da Vinci XI systems, which are heavily used in the operating rooms for smaller incisions and quicker recoveries. 1892 The original Columbus Hospital was a wood- frame building still under construction when the nuns arrive in Great Falls.

• Cover