Welcome to the Greater Missoula County’s 2013-2014 Annual Health Guide, brought to you by the Missoula Chamber of Commerce Health and Human Services Committee and the Missoulian.

Our mission is:

“To increase public awareness by providing an opportunity for communication and education regarding issues such as health, safety and the environment among Missoula’s business community, medical community and general public.”

The Missoula area is a regional hub for medical services with two major medical facilities, one of the oldest specialty clinics in the country and highly regarded centers for cancer treatment and rehabilitation. The University of Montana Schools of Pharmacy and Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science are involved in prestigious medical research. Big Sky High School continues to offer the Health Science Academy for students focusing on medical careers.

New challenges continue to be encountered in our health care system, including the new Affordable Care Act. Businesses that focus on medical care, treatment and prevention make up one of the largest and fastest growing segments of the economy today and the Chamber of Commerce recognizes that with a designated Health and Human Services committee.

This Health Guide is one of two major projects that the committee undertakes. One, this guide, is designed to highlight the size and scope of many of the health care services available and to be a convenient and easy-to-use guide for the public. Two, the Health Fair, is to educate the public through informative and comprehensive free or low cost screening. We also want to offer information regarding simple lifestyle changes, such as change in diet, smoking, exercise and stress management that can help the average person make simple changes in their lifestyle to improve their self-health. Information is targeted to all age groups. This is an annual event held the second Saturday in January at Southgate Mall.

This guide depends on many volunteers from the Health and Human Services committee, but we would like to give special thanks to Sherrie Sorenson with the Monida Healthcare Network, Diana Reetz-Stacey with the Missoula City-County Health Department and Renee Labrie-Shanks with Missoula Aging Services.