Benefis Health System is on track to open a new 4,200 square-foot urgent care clinic in Lewistown by late September of this year. This will be the first clinic in town capable of handling urgent care needs outside the emergency department at the Central Montana Medical Center.
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"We're excited that this will be something we can bring to their community. It'll be the first clinic in Lewistown," said Stacy Allen, director of operations with Benefis.
Allen says that the health system has been actively trying to expand to rural areas in North Central and Central Montana.
At the location of a former fast-food restaurant in Lewistown, the new clinic will offer urgent care, lab and imaging services, and specialty outreach for neurosurgery and orthopedics.
"It's important to have that service so patients can be seen timely and get their needs taken care of quickly," Allen said.
The Lewistown community has welcomed Benefis's new investment.
City planning director Doug Osterman is taking it as a sign of the town's steady growth.
"This does fill a void in care for the city of Lewistown, which is really going to be important as we grow," Osterman said.
Last year, the city of Lewistown developed a new growth plan that includes infill development – a strategy that repurposes existing land in the city rather than expanding outward.
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"Our growth is actually much more manageable than what was originally anticipated and I think for a community like Lewistown, that's a good thing. We can do that very methodically and smart and I think as a result, we're going to preserve a lot of the open space and agricultural lands that surround Lewistown," Osterman said.
With new housing units in the works and the new urgent care clinic to fill some gaps, Lewistown is looking ahead.
"It's going to really bring a lot of vibrancy back to Lewistown," Osterman said.
