Montana VA To Resume Care Services at Miles City Community Living Center

Montana VA Health Care System will resume health care services at its Community Living Center in Miles City on Sept. 6.

The Miles City CLC temporarily paused care at the facility in April 2022 due to patient safety concerns. The temporary pause of care allowed Montana VA to correct the patient safety concerns, which addressed professional conduct deficiencies, the recruitment of additional multi-disciplinary staff, revising competencies, and providing optimal training to staff.

Additionally, Montana VA took time to make renovations to the CLC to improve the overall quality of care and living environment.

“Due to staffing challenges earlier this year, we took deliberate actions to ensure the high-quality of care for our Veterans at the CLC,” said Dr. Judy Hayman, Montana VA Health Care System’s Executive Director. “It was a difficult choice, but it was the right choice for our Veterans. Now, we are excited to resume our operations with an energetic, talented staff in an improved facility.”

Many facilities across the state of Montana that provide “nursing home” services have been struggling with budgetary and staffing challenges. In 2022, the state of Montana has closed seven nursing homes across the state causing a current shortage of more than 60 beds. Montana VA was able to address these same challenges and is now able to resume full operations.

While the Miles City CLC does offer “nursing home” services, it also offers a greater variety of medical services and specialties for Montana Veterans. This means the Miles City CLC is a viable option for all enrolled Veterans, depending on their medical needs.

“The Miles City CLC provides a unique opportunity for our Veterans,” said Dr. Hayman. “Not only does the CLC offer high-quality, long-term care for residents, it also offers a variety of options for other Veterans such as physical therapy for patients in recovery. Our Miles City CLC offers our Veterans with the care they deserve in a more modern, comfortable environment.”

Once Montana VA resumes operations, the Miles City CLC will take a phased approach in order to add Veterans appropriately for their care needs. Once fully operational, the Miles City CLC will open with an initial capacity to accommodate 10 residents, with a full team to include nursing leadership, nursing services staff, social services, physical therapy, recreation therapy, and chaplain services..

Montana VA serves over 47,000 enrolled Veterans across Montana—an area roughly 147,000 square miles in size. Veterans are cared for by a staff of 1,400 at 18 sites of care across the state.  One third of Montana VA employees are Veterans. Veterans can connect to their VA healthcare records, information, and message their VA care teams 24 hours a day through the MyHealtheVet patient portal (https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/how-to-use-mhv). Montana VA information, updates, and events are available on the Montana VA website (https://www.va.gov/montana-health-care) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/VAMontana).

Matthew Rosine, Public Affairs Specialist

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