Campus News

Alluvion Health supports Great Falls College's mission

Great Falls College MSU dental assisting program director Robin Williams, left, shows off the college's newly expanded dental clinic to Alluvion Health's Casey Schreiner, Great Falls College CEO/Dean Stephanie Erdmann and Alluvion CEO Trista Besich.

Alluvion Health and Great Falls College MSU celebrated their partnership Monday as top Alluvion officials toured the college’s expanded dental clinic, bounced ideas off the college’s leadership team to find more ways to collaborate and celebrated Alluvion’s $15,000 donation to sponsor the new dental student lab.

“Alluvion Health’s donations to Great Falls College MSU will not only ensure vital access to finances for dental students, but will also help to ensure overall student success - an important step forward towards a healthier future for all,” said Casey Schreiner, chief strategic officer at Alluvion Health and a member of the college’s development board.  

Great Falls College offers the only dental hygiene program in the state and one of only two dental assisting programs in Montana.

Both programs draw students from all over the state. The dental assisting students can complete the classroom portion of the program online anywhere in the state and travel to Great Falls for their clinical work a couple of times a month.

Both programs fill huge workforce needs in Montana.

Recognizing that need to develop dental hygiene and dental assistants for the community and all of Montana, Alluvion donated to the new student lab in the college’s newly expanded state-of-the-art clinic.

"Alluvion Health focuses on whole-patient, whole-life care, and this extends beyond our clinics into areas like education, Schreiner said. “Alluvion is extremely grateful for the work that Great Falls College MSU is doing to promote degree programs in the healthcare field.”

The expansion came about because of the $4.25 million bipartisan support of the 2019 Legislature. Great Falls College used another $1.09 million of institutional funds to complete the project. Donations such as Alluvion’s made that possible.

“We are so thankful for our community partners like Alluvion Health, who make it possible for our students to learn and work in the most modern facilities available so they are prepared to hit the ground running when they enter the workforce,” said Dr. Stephanie Erdmann, CEO/dean of Great Falls College. “We are so pleased to get to show off this amazing facility, and we are grateful that we get the chance to thank Alluvion CEO Trista Besich and her amazing team for their vision to make health care more accessible to the community.”

The expansion will allow the only dental hygiene program in the state to accept an additional seven students into the program each year so it will be able to take in 25 students instead of 18.

 The project added 12,000 square feet to the clinic and another 6,600 feet were remodeled, so students, faculty and staff will be able to work in a more modern, comfortable space that will give patients better privacy.

Besich, Schreiner, Erdmann and other members of the college team also toured the other health science programs at Great Falls College and the simulated hospital at the college.

“We are struck with how entwined our missions are as Alluvion focuses on not only treating your symptoms but improving your overall health to make a stronger community, and Great Falls College offers programs to turn out more health care professionals in a variety of programs – including the dental programs, nursing, health information technology, surgical technology, respiratory therapy, physical therapy and paramedic -- to make that work possible,” Erdmann said.