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Wa-hay neeti and Hau Kona - Hello my friend and welcome from the Fort Belknap Service Unit
Fort Belknap Service Unit operates a 6-bed critical access hospital (CAH) located at the Fort Belknap Agency, Harlem, Montana, and a satellite health clinic located in Hays, approximately 35 miles away. The 6-bed CAH provides the majority of the health care for all Gros Ventres, Assiniboines, and eligible Native American patients on and near the Fort Belknap Reservation. The 6-bed hospital replaced an old 12-bed hospital as a Medical Assistance Facility. A Medical Assistance Facility Pilot Program was developed and designed to support rural areas by creating standards that small hospitals could meet for CMS payments. In March 1998, the Fort Belknap Health Center was the first Indian Health Service critical access hospital in the nation. The successful pilot program went into a nation-wide program called critical access hospitals in August 1998.
The Fort Belknap CAH outpatient visits average 39,000 per year. The new clinic in Hays, the Eagle Child Health Center, can adequately serve 13,000 per year. The medical staff includes 4 family practice physicians, 2 nurse practitioners, 1 physician assistant, and has implemented the Electronic Health Record in the outpatient clinic. The service unit also has a full-time staffed emergency medical services program. The staff is complemented by contract locum tenens for weekend emergency room coverage. The medical staff is supported and works with an equally dedicated staff of nurses, lab and x-ray personnel, pharmacists, dentists, administrative staff, housekeepers, supply specialists, physical therapist, and contract practitioners to provide the best possible care to Native patients. The staff work as a team to make a difference.
The Fort Belknap Service Unit accepts 4th year medical students and 3rd year medical residents for clerkships and rotations. The clerkships and rotations provide a way for our physicians to teach future practitioners and also to market our mission to hire excellent, dedicated health care providers for Indian Health Service.
The staff of the Fort Belknap Service Unit work with the Fort Belknap Tribes to complement each others health services. Because of the close working relationship, the Tribes have given Indian Health Service providers hunting and fishing privileges on the reservation. They pay the same price as enrolled Tribal members for licenses to hunt deer, antelope, elk, buffalo, and game birds. There are pow wows throughout the year, county fairs and rodeos in the summer, and high school basketball games that have large community support. Besides the many activities and sights to take part in and see near the service unit, a short 3 hours drive will take you to Glacier National Park and a 6 hour drive can take you to Yellowstone National Park. “Big City” amenities and entertainment can be found with a drive to Billings or Great Falls, two of the largest cities in Montana.
The Fort Belknap Service Unit is accredited by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Mission Statement
The Indian Health Service provides a comprehensive health services delivery system for American Indians and Alaska Natives with opportunity for maximum tribal involvement in developing and managing programs to meet health needs. The goal is to raise the health status of the American Indian and Alaska Native people to the highest level possible.
Contact Information
Fort Belknap Hospital
Rural Route #1, Box 67
Harlem, Montana 59526
Main: (406) 353-3100
Fax: (406) 353-3227
Eagle Child Health Station
P.O. Box 610
Hays, Montana 59527
Main: (406) 673-3777
Fax: (406) 673-3835
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