BIG SKY — Big Sky Medical Center was the first Montana hospital built new for a community in a generation.
Now, ten years after opening its doors, the facility continues to play a vital role in caring for the people who live in Big Sky.
Last winter, Big Sky local Nicole Howard was skiing on the Spanish Peaks side when everything changed.
“We were flying through the trees, and I hit a little head wall I didn’t see,” she recalled. “I crashed, and my right ski didn’t eject.”
Howard ended up shattering her tibia and fibula.
WATCH: Big Sky skier credits local hospital with crucial care after leg injury
Ski patrol reached Howard in the trees and transported her by toboggan to the bottom of the mountain.
“I then got picked up by a friend because I didn’t want to take the ambulance, and they brought me here,” she said.
"Here" was Big Sky Medical Center, part of Bozeman Health.
“We pulled up, and four nurses came out. The front desk people came out,” explained Howard. “They hoisted me out of the car and wheeled me straight back.”
Without Big Sky Medical Center, Nicole said she would have had to take an ambulance straight to Bozeman after the accident.
“When I broke my leg, I was screaming at patrol, like, ‘Take off my ski boot, I want this off,’” she said. “And they were like, ‘It’s cold, and if you take it off, you can’t put it back on'.”
Instead, Nicole was medicated and stabilized at Big Sky Medical Center before being transported to Bozeman for surgery.
“I was in the ambulance, and they were stabilizing my vitals and making sure everything was okay.”
During her time in the ambulance, Howard said her care was already being coordinated.
“Yes, I can’t have surgery here [in Big Sky], but I need all of those things in order to get surgery right away, which is very important.”
According to Bozeman Health, since opening, Big Sky Medical Center has helped save nearly five million miles of travel between Big Sky and other hospitals.
“Having emergency services within just a few minutes of where you live is absolutely the most important,” said Kelly Halmes, hospital administrator and director of nursing.
Halmes said over the past decade, Big Sky Medical Center has seen more than 38,000 emergency department visits and many injuries similar to Nicole’s.
“In the wintertime, we see a lot of orthopedic injuries off the mountain,” she explained. “And then in the summer, we get that also from mountain biking and rock climbing.”
Additionally, Halmes said in May, Big Sky voters "will have the opportunity to ensure their local tax dollars support locally available health and wellness services."
"As Big Sky grows, new and dependable sources of funding would help the community continue to meet essential care needs and expand services," said Halmes.
