MPCA News

Community Health Partners CHC Sponsors Montana’s First Ready Responder

Community Health Partners (CHP), the Community Health Center based in Livingston with a satellite in Bozeman, has successfully recruited Montana’s only Ready Responder, Roque Miramontes, PA-C, through the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). Under this relatively new program, initiated in April, 2002, NHSC expects to recruit 80 new U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS)officers to serve in medically underserved American communities and to provide an additional resource of health professionals able to respond to medical emergencies nationwide. These officers are primary care clinicians and include physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, mental health clinicians, and nurses; they complement other officers within the USPHS who respond to national emergencies.

Each Ready Responder is assigned to a medically underserved community to provide primary care and participate in clinical administration and community health activities. Ready Responders leave their assignments temporarily every 3-6 months to participate in planned disaster training activities, often held in Washington D.C., where they gain skills in emergency medicine, biochemical emergencies, and mass casualty situations. Should a national disaster occur, Ready Responders are available for call-up. Each Ready Responder is re-assigned to a new underserved community every three years, to better disperse their expertise across the nation and promote continued learning for the Ready Responder. The program is a career branch within the USPHS.

“I knew it was a good program when I learned about it,” comments Laurie Francis, Executive Director of CHP in Livingston/Bozeman, “and Roque Miramontes’ contributions have far exceeded my expectations already.” A native of central California, Miramontes earned his Physician Assistant (PA) certification from the University of California, and spent nearly five years working in underserved areas of California. “He understood the CHC mission when he started at CHP in March of 2004,” comments Francis, “and he is a skilled and flexibile clinician.”

Miramontes’ current clinical work includes primary care practice at CHP in Livingston and Bozeman, and he is the lead clinician in CHP’s newest project, a start-up satellite clinic in West Yellowstone, which will be open on Tuesdays starting July 20. “Preparing for startup in West has been excellent experience,” says Miramontes, who was active in all of the administrative pre-work, which included community assessment and networking, procurement of clinic space and supplies, distributing flyers, and even cleaning and painting their small clinic space, which was donated to CHP by Don Staley of Yellowstone Realty. Bozeman Deaconess Hospital donated a centrifuge so that laboratory samples can be processed and taken to Bozeman at the end of the day on Miramontes’ way home to Livingston. American Medical Response (AMR), the ambulance service for the area, loaned the clinic a LifePack 10 for cardiac emergencies.

“The underserved population in West Yellowstone is difficult to define,” says Francis, as many residents are transient, often undocumented workers employed in the area hotel industry. “Our estimate is that at least 300 residents are 100% or below of the poverty level.” Many of these residents are Spanish-speaking, as is Miramontes. “We hope that opening the Clinic will give us more information as to what the needs are there. CHP is also exploring the possibility of operating a similar practice in Gardiner one day a week in the future.”

In addition to his clinical work, Miramontes is also active in administrative work at CHP, assisting with data analysis for the chronic disease Collaborative program, and participating in the Access/Redesign team, both of which provide non-clinical experience in meeting the needs of the underserved. He is very active in Disaster Preparedness programs in Park and Gallatin Counties, where he is able to share his Ready Responder expertise. He is also currently working on his thesis for completion of his Master in Public Health (MPH) at the University of Washington.

“I think the Ready Responder program is a great program not only from the standpoint of what it provides to the underserved, but that so much can be learned in these communities and applied at the national level as a Ready Responder,” says Miramontes. “And I feel fortunate to have Community Health Partners as my assignment.”

Montana Primary Care Association 1805 Euclid Avenue Helena, MT 59601 Phone: (406) 442-2750 Fax: (406) 449-2460