New technology approved at North Big Horn Hospital trustees meeting

Providers at North Big Horn Hospital will soon have the opportunity to use an artificial intelligence driven “digital scribe” to help them with notetaking during patient visits. Trustees for the hospital approved a software sharing agreement with Billings Clinic at the latest hospital board meeting held on March 18. The agreement allows medical providers to use the software.

The digital scribe, according to the hospital’s CEO Eric Connell, will save a tremendous amount of time for the providers because it will take notes during the patient visit.

“Our medical staff is excited about the opportunity to use this technology,” he said. “It will save them time.”

Connell noted that providers using the software at Billings Clinic are able to go home at 5 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. due to the timesaving nature of the technology. The new technology is also cost effective since the hospital is only charged per use. According to Connell, patients will know when the system is in use because providers will first ask the patient for permission to use the system. Once the notes are taken by the scribe, the provider will review them for accuracy.

Upcoming budget

CFO Darcy Robertson discussed the upcoming schedule for developing the district’s budget for the coming year. Board chairman David Winterholler noted that the trustees like seeing a preliminary budget as early as April, so there is sufficient time to “fine tune” the budget before it is finalized. The finalization takes place at a special hearing held before the board’s regular meeting in June. A notice of the hearing is published in the newspaper, and a proposed draft of the budget is sent to the County Clerk in advance of the meeting.

Trustee Brett Crosby, who has been on the board for approximately 20 years, expressed concern that he has seen the cost of medical services increase more than wages over those years.

“My primary concern is to keep the cost of services in line,” he said. “This is why we pore over the budget to the extent that we do. I think it’s important that we do that.”

Robertson noted in her report that the district had eight months of trended data at the end of February that can be annualized and used to prepare the budget for the coming fiscal year.

“The annualized data is the starting point to getting the fiscal year 2026 budget together,” she said. “This is generally completed by the third week in March. After getting the raw data together, finance will meet with each department leader for their input, as well as additions and deletions they have identified on their budget.”

Equipment 

The trustees approved the purchase of a new bariatric bathtub for patients who weigh more than 300 pounds. The current tub is not designed for patients who weigh that much. The new tub has a capacity for patients weighing up to 400 pounds. In addition to increased safety, the request stated that many would benefit from a bath instead of a shower for skin integrity and hygiene.

Kathy Walker reported that the recent addition of MRI services has exceeded expectations. The mobile services are being provided through an agreement with Monida Shared Imaging. She noted that 82 MRIs were completed from September 2024 through February 2025, with a 50 percent referral rate from outside providers.

Walker also reported that the newly acquired DEXA machine is “off to a good start” with 20 scans completed since it was introduced last month.

Reports

Clinic Manager Amber James reported that the clinic had 1,152 patient visits in February, well within its target goal of 1,100 visits per month. There were 263 visiting nurse service visits in the month of February. The goal is to increase the number of visiting nurse visits to 325 visits per month. Additionally, 114 patients were seen on a same day scheduling basis.

James also reported that nurse Rita Unruh has 41 patients enrolled in the chronic care management program.

In his CEO report, Connell noted provider Brenda Arnett’s last day was March 5. Her replacement Kaitlyn Bresee is in the process of being granted privileges so she can begin seeing clinic patients. He also reported that he is actively in talks with a provider with emergency room experience and one with urgent care experience.