Friday Medical Conference

September 2022

9/16:  Contemporary Management of Atrial Fibrillation

Simone Musco, MD
International Heart Institutue of MT
Missoula, MT

9/23:  Refugee Health

Jeff Walden, MD
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT
Missoula, MT

Dr. Jeffrey Walden is a board-certified family medicine physician.  He attended medical school at the University of West Virginia School of Medicine and completed his residency with Cone Health Family Medicine in North Carolina.  Upon graduation, he completed a year-long Junior Faculty position post-residency at Cone Health, as well as a faculty development fellowship with the University of North Carolina. While in North Carolina, he founded the first refugee and immigrant-specific health clinic in the state.  In this capacity, while caring for newly arrived refugees, he also conducted numerous medical forensic examinations for persons seeking political asylum.  Dr. Walden founded a student-led medical-legal clinic with medical students from the University of North Carolina that was awarded a Schweitzer Fellowship.  His areas of special interest include refugee health, global health, wilderness medicine, and inpatient medicine.  Outside of clinic, he enjoys reading, running, fishing, hunting, and exploring Montana. 

9/30:  Inpatient Utilization of Oral and Non-Insulin Hypoglycemics in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Maggie Tyree, PGY1 and  Nate Ramsbacher, PGY1
Providence St Patrick Hospital
Missoula, MT

Margaret Tyree was born and raised in Winnemucca, NV.  She moved to Missoula, Montana in 2016 and attended the University of Montana where she received my Doctorate in Pharmacy in May 2022. In June 2022 she started working at Providence St. Patrick Hospital as a PGY1 resident pharmacist.  Her professional interests include transitions of care, cardiology, ambulatory care, and precepting students.

Nate Ramsbacher recently graduated from pharmacy school after completing his PharmD this last May.  He joined Providence St Patrick Hospital two months ago as a resident pharmacist and is currently in the process of his PGY1 year.  His professional interests are primarily in oncology pharmacy, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics clinical research, and teaching.

October 2022

10/7:   Daily Resiliency Skills 

Andy Laue, LCSW
Missoula, MT

Andrew R. Laue, LCSW is a psychotherapist in private practice in Missoula and Polson, Montana.  In addition to the clinical work he does with individuals, couples and families, he supervises 30 psychotherapists in the Western Montana region, He is the chief trainer for the National Association of Social Workers Montana Chapter’s course in Clinical Supervision.  In  2017, he won a National County Association award for his Secondary Trauma  Group work with the Missoula County Attorney’s office.  He is passionate about creating sustainability for human service professionals through the process of identifying secondary trauma that occurs from the intensity of human service work.  He consults with many agencies about the delivery and complexity of mental health practice.  These include First Step Missoula at St. Patrick’s Hospital, Partnership for Children,  Inter Mountain Mental Health Center,   Partnership Health Center, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Social Services Department.  

A leader in the LGBT community in Montana, Andrew has developed cutting edge interventions for diverse groups including his HIV prevention work with the MSM and IDU population, for which he won the Governor’s Award for HIV Prevention in  2003.     A decade ago he was part of the development of the award winning documentary film, Red Without Blue (2007) which has become a founding document in the search for the equitable treatment of transgender people.   He resides on the Flathead Reservation in rural Montana, and is passionate in his commitment to serve the Native American population in this region.

10/14:  GIS: Using Mapping Technology to Provide Precision Healthcare   

Mary Perry, MD, MPH
Stevensville Family Medicine
Stevensville, MT

Dr. Mary Perry is a board certified Family and Preventive Medicine physician. She attended medical school at University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. During her time there, she was able to participate in several international experiences where she developed a passion for public health. She completed her residency in the combined 4-year Family and Preventive Medicine Residency Program at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California. At that time, she also completed a Master of Public Health through Loma Linda University. She focused on population medicine, and specifically how using mapping software can determine areas of opportunity for healthcare. She is practicing at a rural Family Medicine clinic in Stevensville, Montana through Community Medical Center. 

10/21: Vaping-Induced Lung Injury

Phillip Anuta, DO
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT
Missoula, MT

10/28: Detecting Eating Disorders in Healthcare Settings

Caitlin Martin-Wagar, PhD
University of MT
Missoula, MT

Dr. Caitlin Martin-Wagar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Montana. She is also a licensed psychologist in private practice treating eating disorders and trauma-related difficulties across the lifespan. Her research examines weight stigma and seeks to improve eating disorder treatments, especially through strengths-based interventions. In addition, her work aims to reduce the research-practice gap, with the goal of improving access to care and treatment effectiveness, especially among underrepresented groups and within rural regions.

November 2022

11/4:  Pathogenic Borrelia (Lyme Disease & Relapsing Fever)

Ashley Groshong, PhD
Rocky Mountain Labs
Hamilton, MT

Ashley completed her graduate work at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences with a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology studying Lyme pathogenesis. She went on to complete a post-doctoral fellowship and instructorship at UConn Health, where she focused on bacterial physiology of the Lyme spirochete and was awarded a grant through the patient-centric foundation Global Lyme Alliance. She started as a tenure track investigator at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in March 2021.

11/11: Update on Viral Infections: COVID, Monkeypox, Ebola and Respiratory Viruses

Claude Tonnerre, MD
Providence Saint Patrick Hospital
Missoula, MT

11/18: To Treat or not to Treat: Asymptomatic Bacteriuria (ASB)

Amelda Klink, PGY1 and Matt Nuebel, PGY1
Providence Saint Patrick Hospital
Missoula, MT

Matthew Nuebel graduated with his PharmD from North Dakota State University in May 2022. He is originally from White Bear Lake, Minnesota and moved west to pursue Fly Fishing, Alpine Skiing, Biking, and Hiking. His clinical Interests are Psychiatry and Pharmacy Management.  

Amelda Klink graduated with her PharmD from the University of Montana Skaggs School of Pharmacy in May 2022. Before pursuing pharmacy, she completed a Bachelor's in Human Biology and a neuroscience research fellowship. During pharmacy school she established the Student Health Professionals for Healthy Climate, a student group dedicated to promoting awareness of climate change's impacts on human health. Her professional interests include sustainable pharmacy practice, emergency medicine, and pharmacy education, and her hobbies include snowboarding, gardening, and baking. 

11/25:  No Presentation - Holiday

December 2022

12/2: Topic-Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT)

Melanie Scott, DO
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT
Missoula, MT

12/9: Assessing and Managing a Blue Baby

Mithya Lewis-Newby, MD MPH
Seattle Children's Hospital and Research Institute
University of Washington School of Medicine

Dr. Mithya Lewis-Newby is a Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington. Dr. Lewis-Newby has cared for critically ill infants and children with congenital and acquired heart disease in the Cardiac ICU for the past 14 years. Dr. Lewis-Newby is also appointed in the Division of Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care and Chairs the Seattle Children’s Hospital Ethics Committee. Her academic work focuses on the ethical issues that arise in the provision of pediatric critical care medicine

12/16: Topic TBA

Stephen Reale, MD
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT
Missoula, MT

12/23:  No Presentation - Holiday

12/30: No Presentation - Holiday

January 2023

1/6: Managing Hepatic Steatosis in the Primary Care Setting

Jonathan Rhea, MD
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT
Missoula, MT

Jonathan Rhea is a 3^rd year family medicine resident at Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana. I am a non-traditional student who is originally from South Louisiana and has worked as a chef, ski patroller, and guide. I plan to practice rural primary care in the Mountain West.

1/13: Understanding the Present Through the Past: Utilizing Ancient DNA to Address Questions of Human Health and Evolution

Meradeth Snow, PhD
University of MT
Missoula, MT

Dr. Meradeth Snow is an Associate Professor at the University of Montana. While her position is in the Anthropology Department, she specializes in ancient and degraded DNA, which includes a variety of sources that range from 1000-year-old bones, forensic cases, as well as paleofeces (desiccated human fecal material that can be centuries old). From the collected data, it is possible to better understand the way our species migrated, fed itself, and kept healthy in the past, which often has a direct correlation to people today. A graduate of UC Davis, and currently the department Chair, she runs a large laboratory on campus, where she and her students hope to create a healthier, more ethical future for everyone.

1/20: Introduction to Psychedelic Assisted Therapies - Part 1 of 2 

Ellen Bluett, PhD & Benjamin Merbler, PGY3
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT
Missoula, MT

Dr. Bluett is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor of Behavioral Science in the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana. She has extensive experience working in an integrated behavioral health in both rural and underserved settings. Dr. Bluett completed her postdoctoral training in Health Psychology at the Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs with an emphasis on medical psychology and primary care mental health integration. She has written 18 peer-reviewed publications/chapters and presented at international, national and regional conferences. Her clinical areas of expertise are in posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive and related disorders, and medical psychology. Dr. Bluett's primary role is to provide training to primary care practitioners on the implementation of evidence-based behavioral health practices. Currently, Dr. Bluett is completing her year-long certification in Psychedelic Assisted Therapies through the California Institute of Integral Studies. 

1/27: Conversations with Healthcare Providers and Their Patients: Reproductive Health Care

Elizabeth Paddock, MD
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT
Missoula, MT

Elizabeth Paddock MD is a faculty physician with the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana.  Areas of professional interest are OB, reproductive health, inpatient medicine, quality improvement.  She graduated from Albany Medical College and completed residency training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison .  After residency she pursued an Academic Fellowship also at the University of Wisconsin- Madison.  She has been in Missoula since 2012 and lives with her husband, 11 month old daughter and dog Prancer

February 2023

2/3:  SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER: A Treatable Brain Disease or an Untreatable Character Flaw 

Marc Mentel, DO
Western Montana Mental Health Center

2/10: Responding to the Rise of Eco-Distress

Leslie Davenport, MA, MS, MFT
Professional School of Psychology and Health 
San Francisco, CA

Leslie Davenport is a climate psychology educator, consultant, and therapist exploring the intersectionality of climate, health, economics, education, policy, and social justice. Leslie helped shape the document: “Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance,” and authored four books including Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change, and All the Feelings Under the Sun, written for youth through the American Psychological Association. She is an advisor to Post Carbon Institute, Climate Mental Health Network, Integrative Healers Action Network, One Resilient Earth, and co-lead of the Climate Psychology Certification at the California Institute of Integral Studies and faculty with their School of Professional Psychology and Health. For more information, visit www.lesliedavenport.com.

2/17: Topic-Reflux Disease

Tarin Worrest, MD
Community Medical Center
Missoula, MT

Tarin Worrest is a minimally invasive and bariatric surgeon at CMC. She grew up in Missoula before attending Gonzaga University for her undergraduate degree. She then went to Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington DC. She completed her surgical training at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR, as well as a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery. She is excited to be back in her home town providing bariatric and foregut surgical care

2/24: Rural Maternal Health Disparities

Jessica Liddell, PhD, MSW/MPH
University Of Montana
Missoula, MT

Dr. Jessica Liddell is an Assistant Professor at the University of Montana School of Social Work. Her work focuses on pregnancy and childbirth, reproductive justice issues, community engagement, and making healthcare systems more equitable. Her current research focuses on the use of doulas to improve maternal and infant health outcomes in Montana. Her dissertation research explored the sexual and reproductive health experiences among Native American women in the Gulf South. Dr. Liddell graduated from the interdisciplinary City, Culture, and Community Ph.D. program at Tulane University. She also completed a Masters in Public Health, with a focus on program design and implementation, and a Masters in Social Work, with a focus on disaster mental health at Tulane University. Dr. Liddell completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at Reed College, in Portland, Oregon.

March 2023

3/3: Climate-Smart Healthcare: Pharmacy Perspectives

Hayley Blackburn, PharmD
University of MT
Missoula, MT

Dr. Hayley Blackburn is a clinical pharmacist and Associate Professor at the University of Montana Skaggs School of Pharmacy, where her faculty role includes teaching in didactic coursework and experiential learning opportunities related to global health and planetary health, and research efforts exploring the role of pharmacists and other health professionals in the development of environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient healthcare systems and communities. Dr. Blackburn also serves as a Board Member of Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate and is a co-founder of Rx for Climate, an international pharmacy network focused on promoting climate-smart pharmacy practice through advocacy and education. Her work includes ongoing contributions to the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s equity and sustainability policy development, the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education, and the Climate Resources for Health Education initiative. When not at work, Hayley can be found outdoors-- skiing, hiking, biking, or otherwise enjoying nature with her partner and her dog.

3/10: Adverse Childhood Experiences: Prevention and Downstream Management in Primary Care

Jackie Ordemann, MD
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT
Missoula, MT

Dr. Jackie Ordemann is a 3^rd year chief resident at the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana. She attended medical school at Tufts University via the rural Maine Track Program and concurrently completed a Masters of Public Health. During residency she has participated in the advanced obstetrics track, full spectrum reproductive health track, and rural continuity clinic in Seeley Lake. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking and backpacking, xc skiing, cooking and baking, and exploring with her two adventure cats, Albus and Tonks. 

3/17: Health and Economic Prosperity

Robert Sonora, PhD
University of MT
Missoula, MT

Robert “Tino” Sonora is Associate Director at the Bureau of Business and Economic Research and Adjunct Professor of Finance and Forestry at the University of Montana. Prior to coming to Montana he was a Professor of Economics at Fort Lewis College in Colorado. He is a Visiting Scholar of Economics at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Zagreb, Croatia and a two time Fulbright recipient. His current research interests are: Economic growth, policy effectiveness, income inequality, transition economics and international finance and trade. He holds a BA in economics from Connecticut College, a MA in international Economics from the University of Essex in the UK and a MA and PhD in Economics from The Ohio State University.

3/24: Saving Limbs for Patients with Vascular Disease:  Multi-disciplinary Collaboration through Montana's first "Limb Salvage Center" at Community Medical Center

Robert L. Minor, MD
Community Medical Center
Missoula, MT

Robert L. Minor, Jr., M.D., F.A.C.C. grew up in North Carolina, and went to Duke University for his undergraduate degree and medical school.  He completed his residency in Internal Medicine, served as Chief Resident, and obtained cardiology Fellowship training at the University of Iowa Hospitals.  Rob then completed interventional cardiology and endovascular training in 1993.  

Prior to moving to Missoula, Montana in June 2017, Rob worked for 24 years as an interventional cardiologist and endovascular specialist in Rockford, Illinois where he developed a multi-disciplinary endovascular program focusing on new device technologies.  Through his role as Director of the Research Foundation, he served as an investigator in the first U.S. clinical trials evaluating stents for coronary, peripheral vascular and carotid artery disease.  During this time, he initiated a “hands-on” training program offering first operator experiences in advanced endovascular interventions to visiting physicians from around the U.S.  Rob was then asked to extend this “hands-on” training to Asia, and over a 4-year period, made trips to train vascular specialists in Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and India.  While in Illinois, he also developed a new program for venous interventions, with a focus on stent-graft therapies for central venous obstruction in dialysis patients.  He has published in numerous medical journals, and continues to provide education for vascular specialists by speaking as faculty at U.S. and international meetings.  He serves as a consultant for endovascular industry device engineers and product managers. 

Rob is currently the Director of Endovascular Interventions in the Cardiac Cath Lab at Billings Clinic Heart and Vascular, Community Medical Center in Missoula, Montana.  His clinical interests include wrist artery access with same-day-discharge for coronary and endovascular interventions, and innovative therapies for critical limb ischemia using embolic filter protection, to prevent leg amputations.   Rob’s hobbies include downhill skiing, scuba diving, hiking, and collecting Western art.  He enjoys traveling with his wife Sandy, and spending time with his four adult children and their growing families.

3/31: The Obesity Problem -- Weight Bias in Medicine 

Rachel Schmidt, MD
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT

Dr. Rachael Schmidt is a 3rd year chief resident at the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana. She graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska in 2020. During residency she has participated in the full spectrum reproductive health track and rural continuity clinic in Seeley Lake and taken a special interest in point-of-care ultrasound, teaching, gender affirming care, and full spectrum reproductive healthcare. She is looking forward to the completion of her residency this summer and is excited that she - along with her husband, and two dogs - will be able to stay in the Missoula area post graduation.

April 2023

4/7: Psychedelic Assisted Therapies, part 2

Ellen Bluett, PhD 
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT
Missoula, MT

Ben Merbler, PGY-3
Family Medicine Residency of Western MT 

Dr. Bluett is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor of Behavioral Science in the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana. She has extensive experience working in an integrated behavioral health in both rural and underserved settings. Dr. Bluett completed her postdoctoral training in Health Psychology at the Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs with an emphasis on medical psychology and primary care mental health integration. She has written 18 peer-reviewed publications/chapters and presented at international, national and regional conferences. Her clinical areas of expertise are in posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive and related disorders, and medical psychology. Dr. Bluett's primary role is to provide training to primary care practitioners on the implementation of evidence-based behavioral health practices. Currently, Dr. Bluett is completing her year-long certification in Psychedelic Assisted Therapies through the California Institute of Integral Studies. 

Dr. Merbler graduated from Kansas City University. Currently, a third year resident in Missoula, Montana. Planning to practice family medicine in Ashland, Oregon this fall. 

4/14: The Neuroinvasive Arboviruses: From Bite to Bedside

Alyssa Evans, PhD
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT

Dr. Evans received her B.S. in Biology from Northern Arizona University in 2010, where she worked as an undergraduate researcher in the Environmental Genetics and Genomics Laboratory studying plant genetics, inspiring her interest in research. After graduation, Dr. Evans worked at a clinical genetics lab in Southern California for one year before starting a PhD program in Genetics at Iowa State University. Her dissertation work focused on the molecular virology of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus, and she graduated in 2016. For her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Evans joined the Neuroimmunology Section at Rocky Mountain Labs/National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Hamilton, Montana. There she studied the neuropathogenesis of encephalitic California Serogroup (CSG) orthobunyaviruses and the host immune responses to them. In January 2023, Dr. Evans joined the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology at Montana State University as an Assistant Professor. Her lab at MSU continues to study the encephalitic CSG viruses, with a focus on determining the viral factors that mediate neurological disease.

4/21: Back to Basics:  Diagnosis and Management of Low Back Pain

Bryan Davis, MD
Community Medical Center
Missoula, MT

Dr. Davis grew up in Missoula before attending Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude while double majoring in mathematics and physics. Following this he taught middle school math for two years in Oakland, California as part of the Teach For America program. He then received a scholarship from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education that allowed him to attend University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, where he earned both an M.D. and a Master’s degree in Clinical Research.

After completing his internship at Providence Sacred Heart in Spokane, Washington, he moved to Boston where he graduated from Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s anesthesiology residency program, associated with Harvard Medical School. As a resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital he received a Distinction in Medical Knowledge for his scholarship.

He then spent an additional year completing the Interventional Pain Medicine fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, with additional rotations at the VA Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Center, and Boston Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Davis is double board-certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, and serves the community by caring for a wide array of patients suffering from chronic pain. His clinical interests include minimally invasive surgical techniques, neuromodulation therapy, cancer-related pain, headache, and disorders of the spine.

When not working he enjoys rock climbing with his wife, trail running, cross-country skiing, and being told “no” by his toddler.

4/28: Grief and Empathy in Theatre and Across Disciplines

Bernadette Sweeney, PhD
University of MT
Missoula, MT

May 2023

5/5: Goals of Care Conversations

Nick Furlong, MD
Providence St. Patrick Hospital
Missoula, MT

Dr. Nick Furlong is a palliative care physician at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula. He was born and raised in the cornfields of the Midwest and went to medical school in Omaha at Creighton University.  His residency occurred in La Crosse, WI with the Mayo Clinic.  He completed his palliative care fellowship at Oregon Health Sciences University.  Dr. Furlong currently is the medical director for the palliative care team and sees patients in the hospital, clinic, and telehealth settings.

5/12: Radiation for Benign Diseases

Michelle Proper, MD
Community Medical Care
Missoula, MT

Dr. Michelle Proper is a radiation oncologist practicing at Community Medical Center. She received her undergraduate degree in genetics from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She attended the University of Illinois at Chicago for medical school and completed her training in radiation oncology at the University of Colorado - Anschutz Cancer Center.  She was an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University before joining the Billings Clinic in 2013.  She has been in Missoula at CMC since 2014.  She has taken an active interest in advancing cancer care through research and is the NRG Principle Investigator for the Montana Cancer Consortium. She also sits on the NCI Gynecologic Steering Committee as the Community Oncology Representative