Montana
Montana’s public health system
Montana provides public health services through local and state public health agencies, 7 tribal health organizations and Indian Health Services, and privately funded organizations. The state has 52 local health departments within its 56 counties, of which 7 serve the major population centers. Local health departments employ approximately 600 people. These local departments may or may not have local boards of health. They work closely with the State Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), which employs about 170 people. Four counties with no health departments either contract with adjoining counties for public health services or make other arrangements to have coverage.
Most local health departments in Montana (39 of 56) serve areas with populations of fewer than 10,000 people. Only 9 Montana local health departments serve more than 20,000 people, and 8 others are located in areas serving 10,000 to 20,000 people. Geographic distances, weather, terrain, and limited staff in small agencies who carry out multiple roles and functions, create significant challenges in delivering public health services and coordinating workforce development activities.
NWCPHP activities in Montana
NWCPHP has been working actively with public health colleagues in Montana to design and implement specific training activities, to assist in the development of a statewide workforce development strategy, and to support the application of learning management systems and distance learning technology in workforce development activities.
- NWCPHP staff provide ongoing iLinc Web conferencing technical support and training for state and local public health agencies.
- NWCPHP assists MT DPHHS in planning the annual Montana Public Health Summer Institute.
- The 2008 institute is scheduled for June 2008 in Great Falls, MT.
- NWCPHP faculty partner with public health experts from Montana as co-instructors for courses covering topics such as program evaluation, applied epidemiology, environmental health, leadership and management, and public health law and policy.
- The
third and fourth annual MT institutes were held in Bozeman, MT, in June
2004 and 2005, respectively. In 2006 and 2007, they were held in Great Falls.
- NWCPHP worked closely with the Montana DPHHS in designing an assessment tool, analyzing survey data and producing a statewide report: "Training Assessment of the Public Health Workforce on Bioterrorism and Emergency Readiness Competencies." This report presents findings of a survey of 866 state, county, and tribal public health workers conducted from December 2003-January 2004. NWCPHP is continuing to work with Montana public health professionals to develop a detailed Training Plan based on the assessment findings.
- 2003-2004 funding from NWCPHP's HRSA grant assisted Montana in offering a broad range of public health and emergency preparedness training at 59 training events attended by 1,613 trainees across the state.
Montana contacts
Margaret Souza
Distance Learning Coordinator
Montana Public Health Training Institute
Montana Department Public Health and Human Services
Tulasi Zimmer
Supervisor
Montana Public Health Training Institute
Montana Department Public Health and Human Services
Other Montana links
Department of Public Health & Human Services
Local County Health Department Contacts
Montana Public Health Training Institute
Montana in brief
Montana is a large rural/frontier state of about 928,000 people. According to a 2003 census estimate, 6.5% of Montana’s population are Native Americans. The 2000 US Census classified 46% of Montana’s population as rural and 74.1% as non-urbanized. Montana averages 6.2 person per square mile.
