YBGR opens renovated medical clinic
June 22, 2018
- By SUSAN OLP
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In 1957, around the time the Yellowstone Boys Ranch opened west of Billings, Dr. Don Harr, a psychiatrist new to the area, was tapped as a consultant.
He worked with the cottage couples who helped oversee the care of the boys on campus. He primarily focused on helping discern the underlying reasons for the youngsters’ behavior problems.
“So they could approach it in a more therapeutic way than just hard-nosed discipline,” Harr said Thursday afternoon.
It was only one small part of his medical practice in Billings. Now long retired, Harr, 94, returned to what’s now the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch for the grand re-opening of the nonprofit’s Tom & Joan Scott Medical Clinic.
Employees and supporters gathered for a barbecue and tours of the renovated clinic. Several foundations contributed about $180,000 to upgrade the clinic, said YBGR CEO Mike Chavers, in a few remarks to the group.
“It’s our 61st year here at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch,” he said. “It’s about making a difference in kids’ lives across Montana.”
YBGR works with about 700 children and youth a day in community based and residential treatment services, he said. About 73 live on campus and another 60 are bused in daily for school and treatment services.
Beyond that, community based services are offered in Billings, Lewistown, Livingston and Dillon.
In an interview, Chavers said YBGR started planning about a year ago to upgrade its medical clinic, which was located on the main campus west of 72nd Street West. At the time the red-brick building east of 72nd was not in use, and it made sense to remodel it and locate the medical services there.
“We knew that we needed an updated clinic space in order to provide better services for our kids,” Chavers said. “The types of kids we’re getting are changing and we needed more nursing services.”
Despite the fact that kids who come to YBGR now stay shorter periods, they’re coming with more complex medical or psychological issues than they have in the past.
“So we knew we had to support our medical staff, our psychiatric staff and nursing staff and give them the space they needed to provide good treatment, and this project allowed us to do that,” he said.
Remodeling on the one-story clinic began in April, with the work done by Henderson Construction of Billings. Individual sick rooms were added for kids who aren’t feeling well.
The nursing station was enlarged and private offices were added. Technology was upgraded because of the need for tele-psychiatry and tele-conferencing.
“Sometimes our families can’t come and visit and we like them to be able to see their child,” Chavers said.
Video teleconferencing is available across campus, but the clinic offers a more private setting, and there’s also a conference room for transmitting staff conferences that may involve the family.
The staff includes a part-time medical director, a full-time physician assistant, a full-time psychiatrist who works remotely from Dallas, a director of nursing, a dozen nurses and some part-time contract nurses.
That’s much different from what Harr was used to when he first started consulting at the newly opened ranch. The campus, with only a few buildings, sat west of 72nd Street West.
“Some of the buildings were left over from the ranch that had been here previously,” he said. “So I had the opportunity to witness many additions and changes.”
He stopped his consulting work after several years, but returned occasionally to fill in on a temporary basis when YBGR was short of medical help.
“I think it’s marvelous what’s been done and what they’re continuing to do,” Harr said.
Comparing the facilities to what was previously available, he is impressed. The clinic is laid out well and provides staff room to work one-on-one with the youth.
“It’s almost beyond comparison to what it was on the other side of the road,” he said.
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Dr. Don Harr at the recently renovated nurses’ station during a tour at the grand reopening of the Tom & Joan Scott Medical Clinic at the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch on Thursday.
BETHANY BAKER, Billings Gazette -
A sick bay is located next to the nurses station at the Tom & Joan Scott Medical Clinic at the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch. The sick bay is part of the recent renovations to the clinic.
BETHANY BAKER, Billings Gazette
YBGR’s Community Based Services (CBS) provides many programs and services to help youth in communities around the state of Montana. I would like to introduce you to a charming and delightful young man named Benjaymn from Billings. Ben and his family are clients of CBS’s Case Management program. Ben who has autism and suffers from a medical condition that has caused a lot of stress and pain on his nine year old body. He has had six kidney surgeries already and the possibility of having more. Ben has poor circulation and is very apparent in his little feet, they are cold and purple. Due to his medical issues and surgeries it’s hard for Ben to get a good nights of sleep.
There were so many tears of gratitude from Ben’s family, but the most touching moment was Ben’s concern when his mom began to cry. Ben grabbed his mother’s hand and looked deep into her eyes and asked her “Momma why are you crying?” and “Momma what’s wrong?” he didn’t realize that her tears were not tears of pain but of happiness. His mother Heather, explained gently to him “These are tears of happiness, momma is alright” as she hugged him to ease his fears and comfort him. Benjaymn has the most emphatic soul you will ever meet. What an absolute joy he is.
Yellowstone Academy’s vocational education teacher Jim Klempel and YA Para educator Robert Sipes teamed up recently with Chris Grudzinski, founder of Montana Veterans Meat Locker and current board member of Montana Wounded Warriors to distribute jams and jellies to veterans. For Robert Sipes this project is near and dear to his heart, he is a combat veteran of Desert Storm and understands the struggles that veterans face. “They are a lot like the struggles our kids face at YBGR and YA” Robert said.
meat and jam to a Vietnam Veteran named David. David recently finished chemotherapy treatment and was excited to enjoy some toast with the jam. He said this was perfect since he had lost a lot of his taste for anything during his treatment, but jam was something he could still enjoy. Chris said of YBGR’s donation “I want everyone to know that they are a part of something so big yet so secret, the appreciation for so many Veterans that have never felt that their service mattered or was appreciated. This small, yet huge gesture of food as the jam represents is one of the three basic necessities in live. This precious gift has warmed David’s heart and gave him something he has been needing.”