Intermountain Health Holy Rosary Hospital Opens Comprehensive Cancer Center
With the support of a $6 Million Grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Holy Rosary now provides radiation oncology care to Miles City and surrounding communities
Intermountain Health Holy Rosary Hospital has opened a new, state-of-the-art cancer center with the support of a $6 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to better serve the needs of communities in eastern Montana.
With the opening of the new 12,000-square-foot center, Holy Rosary now offers radiation oncology services in addition to medical and surgical oncology services to address the needs of cancer patients in rural eastern Montana. The project eliminates distance and access barriers to care for the people living in the region. Before opening the new center, patients needing radiation oncology treatment may have had to travel long distances to receive that care, potentially impacting their treatment plans and outcomes. The new center is the only comprehensive cancer center within a 125-mile radius.
“Every year, our dedicated oncology team at Holy Rosary cares for patients through more than 1,500 infusion treatments and more than 500 provider visits, both onsite and through telehealth. As the number of patients we serve has grown year over year, we continue to grow our services to meet their needs,” shared Ben Uhlich, President and Chief Nursing Officer of Holy Rosary Hospital. “With the opening of this new cancer center and now offering radiation oncology services at Holy Rosary, we will be able to serve even more patients, creating equitable cancer care for the region and our rural communities.”
“The opening of the cancer center marks a transformative milestone for patients and their families in eastern Montana facing cancer diagnoses,” said Walter Panzirer, a Trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust. “Helmsley is committed to improving access to health care services in rural America. This new cancer center eliminates the barrier of distance and allows patients to receive care close to home where they can be supported by family and friends.”
The new center is built on the Holy Rosary campus in Miles City, connected to the hospital and all its services. The center is home to the region’s only medical linear accelerator, which delivers radiation treatments quickly and accurately. It has a patient and caregiver-centered design with several unique elements, including large windows in medical oncology and infusion treatment areas and courtyards for caregivers and patients to improve their experience. The new center adds additional chairs and stations in the infusion treatment areas and four dedicated exam rooms.
Construction began on the project in spring 2023, and the $17 million project was completed in September. In addition to the generous funding from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the project was funded through capital investments by Holy Rosary and Intermountain Health and the generous support of community members.
About Holy Rosary: Intermountain Health Holy Rosary Hospital is a comprehensive acute-care hospital in Miles City that serves an 11-county region of eastern Montana. It includes physician clinics, a residential living community, hospice and palliative care services. Holy Rosary is part of the Intermountain Health system. Based in Utah with locations in six states (Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming) and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit healthcare system comprised of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced practice providers. To help 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 deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs consistently.
About the Helmsley Charitable Trust: The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust aspires to improve lives by supporting exceptional efforts in the U.S. and around the world in health and select place-based initiatives. Since beginning active grantmaking in 2008, Helmsley has committed more than $4.5 billion for a wide range of charitable purposes. Helmsley’s Rural Healthcare Program funds innovative projects that use information technologies to connect rural patients to emergency medical care, bring the latest medical therapies to patients in remote areas, and provide state-of-the-art training for rural hospitals and EMS personnel. To date, this program has awarded more than $750 million to organizations and initiatives in the states of Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and two U.S. Pacific territories, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. For more information, visit www.helmsleytrust.org.