Current Initiatives

In a crisis event, life can be overwhelming and unpredictable. Medical emergencies, an economic downturn, and even a worldwide pandemic can affect the livelihood of our associates and their families. The St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation works with our associates to help them through these tough times to ensure their most basic needs are met despite their current situation.

The Associate Assistance Fund helps to alleviate some of the financial stress that our associates may find themselves in due to unforeseen circumstances. Funds are used to help our associates make a mortgage payment, cover rent and utility expenses, or help with a car payment. In the past 5 years, the St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation has helped more than three hundred associates get through a crisis with just over $270,000 in assistance.

For information on how to make an impact for the associates at St. Vincent Healthcare, please contact the Foundation today.

At St. Vincent Healthcare, you have access to some of the most advanced technology and expertise in all of Montana.

We understand that cancer carries an emotional and spiritual burden that goes beyond your physical diagnosis. Our goal is to anticipate your needs and consider even the little things so you can focus on healing. This means you have access to modern, updated facilities designed for your comfort. Whether you’re staying in our hospital or receiving care at St. Vincent Healthcare Cancer Centers of Montana, we work to create a warm environment with conveniences and amenities.

Our specially trained patient navigators are here to answer your questions, coordinate appointments among your doctors and therapists, and connect you with others who can help, such as financial counselors, social workers and chaplains. At St. Vincent Healthcare, we offer the following support for cancer patients receiving care.

The Foundation created the Emergency Relief Fund to support patient and hospital needs in times of emergency. This fund will support the hospital's ongoing needs as we are faced with emergencies, like COVID-19, that directly affect our community’s health and well-being. This may include support for patients diagnosed as positive and under treatment for COVID-19, based on need, to assist with expenses incurred by patients after discharge, including recovery medication, medical equipment needed at home and insurance co-pays. Once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, the Emergency Relief Fund will be available to support our community during it’s hardest times.

To make a contribution or to learn more about this fund, please contact the Foundation at (406) 237-3600.

The Eva Project provides free mammograms to women over age 40 that are uninsured or under-insured. The Eva Project was created by a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 48 years old with no family history. Through early detection, Eva's cancer was diagnosed and successfully treated. Eva wanted to make sure that every woman would be able to receive her screening mammogram.

Eva and St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation then created The Eva Project to provide any women in need with a free screening mammogram whether it's in the Yellowstone Breast Center or on the mobile mammography Coach. The EVA Project is funded by Eva and the St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation with support from the NILE Rodeo Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night, the MSU-B Girls Basketball and Volleyball games, other events, community sponsors and private donors.

How We Help

The EVA Project offers free digital mammography screenings to women 40 and over who are uninsured or under-insured.

How You Can Help

• GIVE – make a tax deductible donation
  You can donate by clicking here or send check to the address below:
  Eva Project
  c/o St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation
  1106 N. 30th Street
  Billings, MT 59101
• SUPPORT – support an Eva Project fundraiser
• Purchase an Eva Project shirt at Shipton's Big R
  In October you will be able to purchase Tough Enough to Wear Pink apparel at the Nile Rodeo and all three Shipton's Big R locations.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

• Nile
• Shipton's Big R
• St. Vincent Healthcare - Frontier Cancer Center

The Meadowlark House (two duplex units) located at 30th Street West in Billings, is a residence for out-of-town patients receiving cancer care in Billings. These homes have served more than 650 cancer patients, averaging about 45 patients each year. This refuge shelters patients at NO COST. The homes are spacious and provide every amenity imaginable. Patients describe the units as accommodating, clean and comfortable. While receiving cancer treatment, the Meadowlark House provides a safe haven for patients as they focus on getting well.

Fundraising efforts have blessed the Meadowlark House since 2004. The homes are maintained and continue to operate using the funds from the annual interest earned on the Meadowlark House Endowment. Giving to this endowment would make you eligible for the 40% Montana Tax Credit.

With your generosity, no patient in our region will ever have to turn down critical cancer treatment because they do not have the resources to stay in a safe, warm and comforting home in close proximity to their cancer treatment. The Meadowlark House will serve as home away from home while they rest and get healthy.

The Nelles Nurse Program was created in 2002 by the Ralph Nelles Family. The Nelles Nurse program supports our medical community, ensuring we maintain the highest healthcare standards and retain outstanding nurses and medical professionals in Montana.

The Nelles Nurse Program provides scholarships to student nurses during their schooling, allowing them to work at St. Vincent Healthcare directly out of nursing school. The program also provides financial support to medical professionals at St. Vincent Healthcare looking to advance their medical skills and knowledge. Recently, this program funded the transformation of the Mansfield Center Library into a hands-on, working laboratory for medical professionals where they can work on dummies in real time, honing their medical skills.

To make a contribution or learn more, please contact the Foundation at (406) 237-3600.

The challenge of neurological disease and brain injury is greater now than ever before. Each year, more people are affected by neurological conditions, ranging from strokes to Alzheimer’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis, or to advanced movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.

The St. Vincent Healthcare Neuroscience Center of Excellence serves approximately 16,000 patients each year. Our skilled neuroscience team leads the Northwest in many advanced procedures and treatments, including the insertion of a pain stimulator, awake craniotomies, complex spine surgeries and deep brain stimulation. St. Vincent Healthcare has been recognized as a Primary Stroke Center, has the only Certified Multiple Sclerosis Center in Montana and was the first healthcare organization in the region to offer deep brain stimulation to treat Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.

The demand throughout the region for access to St. Vincent Neuroscience providers and services confirms the need for Billings to have a comprehensive, best in region neuroscience program that spans the continuum between innovative accesses to compassionate patient care. Philanthropic support of our neuroscience service line will provide much needed access to neuroscience healthcare to patients in our region, will help create a state of the art Multiple Sclerosis Infusion Center, and will provide operation support needed to expand our services. More specifically, funds will help to transform our Multiple Sclerosis Infusion Center into a space that allows our patients to relax and find innovative medicines that alleviate the symptoms of the MS. Our MS infusion center provides more than 1,500 infusions every year. Once complete, the infusion spaces, aesthetics and healing space will match the exceptional care provided by the neurology team.

In addition, we will be reconfiguring the current Neuroscience Center space, which currently is at capacity. With more spaces, we will have the ability to hire more providers and increase patient capacity to better meet the demands of the communities we serve. Philanthropic support will guarantee that the best neuroscience care in our region will be available to our patients in the Billings and surrounding areas. To learn more or make a contribution, please call the Foundation at (406) 237-3600.

Many times, patients are brought to St. Vincent Healthcare unexpectedly and they are unprepared in many ways for what lies ahead of them. Additionally, due to the vast geographic area of our patient population, individuals and families are sometimes displaced from their own homes and communities for extended periods of time or they will need to travel significant distances to reach our doors.

The St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation Patient Compassion Fund provides meals, cab rides, motel accommodations, bus or airfare, gas cards, and sometimes even medical equipment for our patients and/or their caregivers. These types of services are not covered by an insurance plan but directly impact the ability of our patients to receive the care they need. Our Care Management team works closely with our patients and their providers to identify any barriers that may prevent a positive outcome for the patient.

Having a loved one close by during a medical event and relieving a little bit of the financial impact for a patient or family makes a marked difference in the overall outcome of that patient’s healthcare journey.

For information on how to help the patients at St. Vincent Healthcare, please contact the Foundation today.

Join us on June 22, 2024 for the 13th Annual PEAKS to Conga bicyclists' fundraiser! Click here to find out more information at www.peakstoconga.org and our facebook page. 

PEAKS to Conga is a fun, non-competitive, and relatively easy (no mountain passes) 66-mile bicycle ride from Cody to Shell, WY to raise money for PEAKS, a.k.a. "People Everywhere Are Kind & Sharing." The ride is fully supported – all you need is your bike, helmet, and riding gear.

For more information, call Laurie Stoelk at 307-272-8766.

Learn the history of how the PEAKS to Conga bicycle ride got started.

At St. Vincent Healthcare, we’ve been caring for children for more than 100 years. The mission of our team of nurses, doctors and specialists is to provide high-quality pediatric care so your child can thrive.

From well visits and preventive care to specialized surgery and emergency services, we offer your family a continuum of care. We help guide, protect and celebrate your little ones from birth to adulthood and beyond. With philanthropic support, the St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation helps sustain and grow our pediatric programs. Donors have helped in providing our pediatric specialty services and funded Montana and Wyoming’s first Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. In 2019, we launched a full-time Pediatric Surgery Program and are pleased to report that the program start-up was funded 100% with philanthropic support.

St. Vincent Healthcare holds a strong commitment to kids, and your gift ensures children heal close to home. The Foundation supports pediatric care with an annual commitment of $1M. For information on donating to our Pediatric Programs and helping to ease the burden on families in crisis, please contact the Foundation today.

St. Vincent Healthcare understands that healing is not only clinical but it is dependent on your spiritual and emotional well-being. Everyone seeks a personal way to express meaning and purpose in life, to make connections and to preserve what is sacred. Spiritual care nurtures the spirit and helps our patients connect with what gives them hope and courage to face the challenges ahead.

Our chaplains are a source of support, guidance, companionship and hope during your journey. Our spiritual care team delivers care in the hospital, clinics, cancer centers, outpatient centers, etc. to patients, family members, associates, volunteers and physicians. The chaplains are professionally trained to offer emotional support to you and your family, regardless of your faith tradition. Like our physicians and nurses, chaplains seek to learn who you are and about your situation so they can provide the best care possible. This might mean they ask about you, your story and what matters most to you. They may ask how spirituality is important to you and assist you in accessing spiritual resources that bring healing to your mind, body and spirit.

Why now?

Healthcare in the United States faces increasing financial pressures calling for critical decisions about how to deliver services into the future. As a Catholic healthcare ministry, we care for the whole person. Our founding sisters challenged us to see in the sick and poor the face of Christ and reverence them accordingly. Now more than ever, it is critical for us to embolden our spiritual care delivery as a hallmark of this sacred mission and ministry that has been entrusted to us.

What is unique about this campaign?

The spiritual care program has its own endowment, which only utilizes the revenues earned on the money invested, and the principal fund will remain in a trust and is not available for use at any time. Because the campaign will create an endowment, there are tax benefits for both individuals and corporations that reside and operate in Montana.

Under the 40% Montana Tax Credit rule, individuals can take a maximum tax credit of $10,000. Therefore, the maximum individual gift to an endowment to receive the tax credit is $25K/individual or $50K/couple ($25,000 x 40% = $10,000). Furthermore, corporations, too, are eligible for a 20% Montana Tax Credit up to a maximum of $10,000 credit so the maximum corporation gift to an endowment to receive the tax credit is $50K.

Many donors are surprised to learn that with tax savings from the endowment tax credit and federal charitable deductions, the out-of-pocket cost can be as little as one-third of the gift value. Our planned giving advisors are always available to help structure gifts and illustrate what the true out-of-pocket cost of an endowment gift will be. We are here to assist you with this amazing tool!

Our Four Pillars of Spiritual Care

Comfort

What is most important to you as your loved one lies in the hospital waiting for news or hoping to get well? Comfort… Our spiritual care team offers comfort, support, and companionship, helping people encounter the sacred in the midst of suffering. This campaign will ensure that our chaplains are able to offer you and your loved ones strength and hope through their loving presence 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

Honor

How can St. Vincent Healthcare honor every patient and family member as they approach the end of life? St. Vincent Healthcare’s “No One Dies Alone” program ensures well-trained volunteers are able to journey with patients through their final hours when no family or friends are available to stay. Imagine a loved one lying in our hospital at the end of their life and you are not able to be with them due to circumstances out of your control. St. Vincent Healthcare promises that we will be there for every patient as they take their last breaths on this earth.

Embrace

How do you understand your spirituality and which faith traditions are important to you when experiencing fear, grief, health issues, relationship difficulties or other life challenges? Our chaplains are grounded in their own pastoral identity while reverencing diverse faith backgrounds. Honoring diversity in creation and the human experience, our chaplains will seek to understand your story and help you embrace the sacred through your own faith perspective. Chaplains can provide support for spiritual rituals and prayers that are meaningful to you.

Educate

How can St. Vincent Healthcare spread our passion and rich experience of spiritual care to your region? We educate students as the only Clinical Pastoral Education program in the region. We provide the opportunity for people in the region to deepen their understanding of spiritual care, and even prepare for formal board certification.