Hospital Corner: Good things often come in small packages

Logan Health’s smallest clinic is nestled in the woods on the side of Big Mountain. The Logan Health Walk-in Care Base Lodge has been offering convenient mountainside care to skiers, snowboarders and others for 25 years.  

When snow, ice and gravity combine, there is bound to be an occasional fall. Next door to Whitefish Mountain Resort’s Base Lodge, the small staff is at the ready to treat visitors and locals alike without appointment.  

Before there was a clinic at the base of the ski area, an injured skier had to travel down the mountain to the hospital by ambulance or in a personal vehicle. For out-of-town guests without a car, especially those lodging on the mountain, this was an inconvenience, especially for minor injuries that did not require emergency care.  

In the 1990s, the number of skiers in Whitefish was growing and so were injuries. As it is in a small town, folks know and talk to each other, and they look for ways to make life better. Managers on the mountain talked to managers at the hospital. The idea of opening a small clinic on the mountain for non-emergency care would save patients a trip down the mountain. The hospital agreed to the idea of staffing a clinic during the ski season and the ski area provided the space.  

The clinic opened in December 1999 with a physician assistant and a radiology technologist for taking x-rays to provide an initial assessment of the injury. Guests of the resort, ski area staff and a growing number of homeowners had access to walk-in care for minor injuries and illnesses daily during the ski season. The clinic created more access to convenient and prompt healthcare. 

Over the years the clinic has seen a few improvements. In 2007 when the resort remodeled its base area, they created a space for the clinic on the lower level of their new building housing locker rooms and offices for ski patrol and ski school. This remodel is a credit to the partnership between the resort and the hospital. The space resembles a small emergency room with three bays. There’s also a private exam room and an office.  

In the winter of 2022-23 the clinic upgraded their imaging capabilities with a new digital mobile x-ray unit.  The state-of-the-art machine was made possible through a philanthropic gift to the Logan Health – Whitefish Foundation. Advancements included a 50% decrease in radiation per exposure and significantly better image quality. With higher resolution images, the clinic staff can provide a more accurate diagnosis. 

This means skiers and snowboarders get an answer and a care plan while still in their snow gear. In addition to the prompt assessment of their injury or illness, the clinic staff provide a connection to the next level of care by sending the digital x-rays, and other medical records to the patient’s follow-up provider. 

In many cases, the next level of care is scheduling a visit at Logan Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. Fortunately, in the 2023-24 season Logan Health opened ortho walk-in services in Kalispell. Many patients seen at the Walk-in Base Lodge were able to see an orthopedic specialist at ortho walk-in on the same day.  

Like an emergency room, walk-in care allows people to be seen without an appointment. It saves many visitors and locals an inconvenient and potentially expensive trip to the emergency room.  

In the event of a fall, or if feeling under the weather, Logan Health Walk-In Care – Base Lodge is open daily during the ski season 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 1045 Glades Drive, at the base of the Easy Rider Lift/Chair 9.