Celebrating eight years of exceptional health care in the Big Sky community 

By Chris Darnell GUEST COLUMNIST  

During this holiday season, the hearts of your care team at Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center are filled with pride and gratitude. This month, we celebrate eight years of improving community health and quality of life in the greater Big Sky community. 

Consider that since opening in December 2015, our emergency department has had more than 30,100 visits and our primary care clinic over 41,000 visits. Our care team has conducted over 23,000 X-rays and 3,100 MRI scans. We have exceeded 100,000 lab tests and over 200,000 pharmacy prescriptions. Though only part of the story, these numbers directly represent thousands of lives that have been improved, and in many cases, lives that have been saved, over the last eight years. 

As a member of the Big Sky community, I have heard from many residents that they would not have been able to move to Big Sky if it were not for convenient access to quality medical care. 

Part-time residents have also expressed that they are now able to reside in Big Sky for longer periods throughout the year thanks to BSMC services. And we care for so many visitors. There are also numerous indirect community benefits to individuals being able to receive primary and emergency medical care locally, and not having to travel elsewhere. 

I am immensely proud of BSMC and our excellent care team for the important work they do every day, night, weekend and holiday. We will continue to build on our existing services and pursue additional specialty services, and we remain committed to providing convenient, quality care to every person, every time. 

We also recognize that we are only as strong as our community. As such, we are grateful for the support and collaboration among individuals and our many community partners including law enforcement, firefighters and EMS, ski patrol, Big Sky Resort and Yellowstone Club, various local nonprofits, and so many more. Your local health care team at BSMC looks forward to many more years of serving the health care needs of the greater Big Sky community. 

Chris Darnell is the administrator for Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center.