This year, we mark the 30th anniversary of the merger that led to Benefis Health System.
Two histories that harkened back to the earliest days of Great Falls – to Catholic Sisters of Providence nuns and to Methodists led by the Rev. William “Brother Van” Van Orsdel – became intertwined.
On July 1, 1996, the Columbus and Deaconess hospitals ceased to exist and, in their place, a single, nonprofit hospital emerged, then called the Great Falls Consolidated Hospital, a placeholder name until the adoption of the name Benefis from the Latin for good (bene) and faith and trust (fis).
The road to that transformative milestone was bumpy, but the Columbus and Deaconess boards made the persuasive case that it was necessary. The hospitals were bracing for federal cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally subsidized programs. Act now before a crisis, the boards argued, saying that one strong healthcare system would better meet the challenges to come than two struggling hospitals.
“Merger faces a dogfight,” read one headline in the Great Falls Tribune amid two years of intense debate in the editorial pages, via reader comments, and even advertisements purchased by supporters and opponents (“One Hospital. It just makes sense,” read supporter ads).
Two thousand area residents braved snow to weigh in on the merger at a hearing in January 1996 before state Attorney General Joe Mazurek, whose job was to decide the initial fate of the proposed consolidation, considered a healthcare monopoly. The Federal Trade Commission declined to challenge the merger and noted the state of Montana had a laundry list of guidelines governing the new hospital and COPA (certificate of public advantage) regulation.
One of the big questions was which location would become the main campus with critical-care services. Columbus (now West Campus) had 198 beds, and Deaconess (now East Campus) 288, but Columbus was 12 years newer. Remodeling Floor 8 alone at Deaconess shortly before the merger had required $125,000 in asbestos removal. Some doctors argued Columbus was easier to get around in.
Deaconess ultimately was proven to be in better condition than Columbus, and so it became the main campus. The duplication of emergency departments, labor and delivery services, and more was streamlined.
Both hospitals employed 1,759 employees, whose lives were up in the air amid the merger talks. Benefis now employs more than 3,400 people in central Montana and has a longstanding no-layoffs policy.
The boards of directors of the Catholic-owned Columbus Hospital and the nonprofit Montana Deaconess Medical Center voted separately in April 1996 to ratify the merger proposal they had mulled for two years.
The single hospital would be owned by Spokane-based Sisters of Providence, the same Catholic order that owned Columbus, but would be governed by a community-based board and operated as a nonprofit. The move helped the board through the challenges of separating Columbus debt from its parent organization. By 2005, the relationship was impeding Benefis’ ability to locally govern the hospital and adapt to the community’s unique demographics and its needs. In 2006, Benefis formally separated from Providence.
Over time, historic rivalry gave way to the recognition of shared values and vision under one banner. Within a decade, the merger had proved its worth with better services, greater affordability, expanded outreach to rural hospitals, improved facilities, and national clinical quality recognition.
That success paved the way for a pivotal political achievement for Benefis in 2007, the end of COPA oversight. This state supervision was put into place to ensure patient protection, but Benefis demonstrated that we would best be able to serve the needs of our community without COPA. Benefis was ready to step into a new era as a strong and comprehensive system.
The journey from two pioneer medical missions to a modern healthcare system has been the work of generations of healers, supporters, and the patients who trusted Columbus and Deaconess hospitals for treatment and then Benefis after the two entities merged.
Today, Benefis is part of some of the biggest moments in the lives of central Montanans like you. It’s the regional hospital where a Mercy Flight helicopter and crew brought your neighbor after an accident on the farm, the birth center where your baby was welcomed into the world, the cardiologist’s office where you worked out a plan for heart health after a high-tech surgery, the tranquil garden at Peace Hospice where you remembered a loved one, and so much more.
“Thirty years ago, the Columbus and Deaconess leaders had the vision to come together for the good of central Montana," Benefis Health System CEO John Goodnow said. "Their forward-thinking decision laid the foundation for the strong, integrated Benefis Health System patients rely on today. Without that foresight, our region would not have the level of care and stability we’re fortunate to have now.”
Lee Enterprises newsrooms were not involved in the creation of this content.
