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61 Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce www.greatfallschamber.org M E D I C A L Great Falls Clinic Expanding its Same-day Surgery Center Touro College and University Coming Soon Great Falls Medical Developments Photo provided by Great Falls Clinic The Great Falls Clinic has announced a $7 million expansion of its same-day, outpatient surgery center. The facility kicked off its expansion plans on August 23, 2021. The Great Falls Clinic Surgery Center is located on the Great Falls Clinic campus directly next to the Great Falls Clinic Specialty Center. The Surgery Center is a one-story surgery center that was built in 1999. Situated on a 1.63-acre site, the facility offers same-day surgeries in a variety of specialties including, but not limited to, general surgery, gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, ENT, pain management, urology, and podiatry. The original purpose of the facility was to host only outpatient surgeries requiring less than 24-hour recovery times. All other surgeries that require more than 24-hour recovery times were historically performed at the Great Falls Clinic Hospital. As it sits today, the Great Falls Clinic Surgery Center is 12,636 square feet and has three operating rooms and two procedures rooms. However, new expansion plans will add 7,375 square feet to the existing facility to include five new observation beds to accommodate overnight surgical stays, an additional operating room, as well as resizing and expanding two of the existing operating rooms and central processing to accommodate different types of surgical Touro College and University System to Establish Montana Medical School | The Touro College and University System. At this time, we hope to have permission from our accreditor to enroll students for the Fall 2023 academic semester (which technically begins in the summer). Each class will have 125 students - so when fully enrolled after 4 years, there will be 500 students. They will earn a D.O. degree. We also plan to begin a one-year Masters Program to replicate the successful pipeline program to medical school that we have created in New York. As a member of one of the nation's largest, most diverse networks of medical and health sciences schools, Touro College Montana will help address the rural doctor shortage and support minority representation in the medical profession. "The mission of Touro's osteopathic medical schools is to train osteopathic physicians, with a particular emphasis on practicing medicine in underserved communities, and to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in medicine," said Dr. Alan Kadish, President of the Touro College and University System. cases. This expansion plan is set to occur in two phases. Phase one will include the addition of five observations beds and a new operating room. Phase one's scheduled completion is mid-March 2022. Phase two will consist of expanding the existing operating rooms and central processing. Phase two's scheduled completion is mid-May 2022. The total facility footprint will sit at 20,011 square feet once completed. "The expansion of the stand alone, outpatient surgery center has been on our minds for some time," stated Wayne Gillis, CEO of the Great Falls Clinic Hospital. "Since opening our new hospital in 2015, the facility has been bursting at the seams and we have been creative with re-arranging and scheduling surgeries to accommodate our patients. The expansion of the existing surgery center will free up more space and time at our hospital as we prepare for more complex cases and higher levels of acuity. This will also allow us to focus on expanding our surgery center, which we have not done since building the facility in 1999." Construction will not interrupt any existing patient care or scheduled surgeries. All operations for the Surgery Center are up and running as usual. Watch for more information being released regarding the Great Falls Clinic Hospital's plans for expansions!