Seasonal urgent care clinics serve hikers, campers

Frequent visitors to Glacier National Park may have noticed some small medical signs in West Glacier just before they head into the park.

Following these signs leads to the West Glacier seasonal urgent care clinic, staffed during the summer months for park visitors.

The clinic, run and staffed by North Valley Hospital, is one of two seasonal urgent care clinics. The other operates at Whitefish Mountain Resort during the ski season.

Pam Albright, one of the X-ray technicians who works at both clinics, said the work they do is a saving grace for some people.

“People are so appreciative we are out here,” she said. “The fact that we are here can save them a whole day of vacation of driving into town. That’s something we are pretty proud of.”

The clinics carry medicine for common ailments such as sinus infections, urinary-tract infections and strep throat, but does quite a bit of work with injuries from outdoor activities.

“When we are on the mountain, about 90 percent of what we see is stuff coming off the mountain,” Albright said. “Fractures, torn ligaments, dislocated shoulders or whatever. Up here near the park it’s about half injuries, half illness.”

Hikers twist ankles, fall off trails and injure themselves in a variety of ways. Albright said the clinic sees about four or five patients on an average May or June day, but that picks up in July and August to seven or eight. An extremely busy day can see upwards of a dozen patients.

“That’s a lot of patients for just a staff of two to deal with,” she said.

The clinic at Whitefish Mountain Resort was founded in the 2009-10 ski season and the West Glacier clinic followed in summer 2010. Staff and equipment are transferred seasonally.

The West Glacier Clinic opens on Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day. The Big Mountain clinic is open from the first day of ski runs at the resort to closing day.

“This year we were up there until April 12 when they closed the slopes,” Albright said.

Big Mountain’s clinic is located at the base lodge at the bottom of chair 9. West Glacier’s is slightly more difficult to find, located on River Bend Drive, then down the second left on Rea Road.

“The signs are bigger when you get off the main road,” Albright said.

An X-ray or imaging technician and a nurse practitioner or physician assistant are available during clinic hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at West Glacier and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Big Mountain.

Although staffed by just two people, the clinics perform a valuable service to vacationers and locals alike.

“We do actually get cardiac cases,” Albright said. “We can stabilize here and call ALERT or an ambulance to transfer them to the hospital.”

The clinics take all the same insurance that North Valley Hospital takes, offering a level of convenience for someone who may have injured a leg hiking or a nose taking a face plant on a ski run.

Visit www.nvurgentcare.org for more.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.