New clinic offers menu of options for patients seeking care

Karen Battenberg has worked as a bank teller, a jazzercise teacher and for the Forest Service. It wasn’t until she found nursing that she realized her true calling.

“I've always wanted to help the community, but I didn't figure it out until I was 30. I found medicine and it's just been a dream come true,” said Battenberg.

Battenberg, who has a master’s in nursing and is a family nurse practitioner, has opened a new clinic, On the Move Medical Clinic, in downtown Kalispell aiming to take a transparent approach to health care by offering a menu of options to patients. Battenberg believes in providing physical, mental and emotional care that is safe and affordable.

“I always wanted to have my own clinic where I could practice the kind of medicine that I wanted to practice,” she said.

Battenberg searched the valley for a space to call her own and finally found it when she met Steven Biggs, a chiropractor in downtown Kalispell. He had an office in his building and On the Move Medical Clinic was born.

“I just felt like there had to be something better that I could create in this community that has more love and belonging,” she said of her motivation to open the clinic. “It's been a long process and there have been a lot of nice people that have helped along the way.”

Despite the challenges that come with being a business owner, Battenberg takes solace in the beauty that surrounds her.

“I love putting my bare feet on the ground and feeling the warm sun on my face and breathing in the Montana air,” Battenberg said. “I’m so grateful that this community in Montana embraced this enough to happen. I really believe that this is a place where dreams can come true.”

Having raised three children as a single mom, Battenberg knows the difficulty that some families face when it comes to finding honest and affordable health care.

“When I go into a facility, I want to see the menu. I want to see how much everything is because if I have a budget and three kids, I want to say, ‘OK, I can afford this, this, and this’ and then you know what you’re getting. [On the Move Medical Clinic] is a straightforward way to know what you're going into, and how much it's going to cost,” she said.

From illness and injuries to screenings and wellness exams, there are over 70 services listed on On the Move’s website with fixed prices so patients know the cost in advance.

No matter the service, Battenberg hopes that On the Move Medical Clinic will be a place where people can feel listened to and cared for without having to worry about the price.

On the Move Medical Clinic opened on Sept. 1 and though Battenberg is just getting started with her ventures, she already has big plans for the clinic.

“I hope and see that this little clinic model could go to Eureka and that there would be two or three more nurse practitioners that wanted to have a co-op and run it since that's their neighborhood,” she said. “And then pop one over in Libby or Polson and have the same type model and it would be like a co-op and people would buy in, so that they can take care of their neighborhoods.”

On the Move Medical Clinic is located at 248 Third Ave E, Kalispell, and can be reached by email at info@onthemovemedicalclinic.com or through their website at https://onthemovemedicalclinic.com/

Reporter Summer Zalesky may be reached at szalesky@dailyinterlake.com.