Aaron Bolton

Columbia Falls

Reporter at Montana Public Radio (Missoula, MT)

MTPR’s NW Montana/Statewide Health Care Reporter [email protected] - Contributor @npr @KHNews - Previously @KSTKradio @kbbiam890 - Here for your dog videos.

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Articles

How psychiatric patients get caught in a cycle of homelessness and spotty care

5 days ago | npr.org | Aaron Bolton

Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs, Montana is the state's only psychiatric hospital for adults. Mental health advocates say it's too hard to get someone committed to the hospital, and patients are discharged too soon, without a long-term treatment plan — which means they often end up homeless again.
Five measles cases detected in Montana

5 days ago | mtpr.org | Aaron Bolton

The Gallatin City-County Health Department says two adults and three children are isolating after confirmation they had measles. Health officials say they contracted the disease while traveling out of state, but could not say where. All of them were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. The county health department is contacting people who may have been exposed. Officials say people who’ve been vaccinated don’t need to take any action.
Kalispell affordable housing project; Opioid overdoses are on the rise

5 days ago | mtpr.org | Aaron Bolton

With HUD grants in limbo, Kalispell shelter breaks ground on affordable housing projectChris Krager with the Samaritan House says he was in the process of finalizing a more than $4 million grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. But, right in the middle of that process, he says federal staff went silent. Krager doesn’t know whether that grant will show up or if he needs to look elsewhere for funding.
How psychiatric patients get caught in a cycle of homelessness and spotty care

6 days ago | tpr.org | Aaron Bolton

When L tells the story of her mom — and how she's stuck in a repetitive cycle of mental health crises and bouts of homelessness — she refers to a thick stack of papers and notes she's accumulated along the way. L has spent more than a year trying to navigate Montana's mental health system, searching for anyone who could help her mom manage her symptoms and achieve enough stability to get off the streets and into a permanent home.
How psychiatric patients get caught in a cycle of homelessness and spotty care

1 week ago | thepublicsradio.org | Aaron Bolton

When L tells the story of her mom — and how she’s stuck in a repetitive cycle of mental health crises and bouts of homelessness — she refers to a thick stack of papers and notes she’s accumulated along the way. L has spent more than a year trying to navigate Montana’s mental health system, searching for anyone who could help her mom manage her symptoms and achieve enough stability to get off the streets and into a permanent home.
How psychiatric patients get caught in a cycle of homelessness and spotty care

1 week ago | wgbh.org | Aaron Bolton

When L tells the story of her mom — and how she’s stuck in a repetitive cycle of mental health crises and bouts of homelessness — she refers to a thick stack of papers and notes she’s accumulated along the way. L has spent more than a year trying to navigate Montana’s mental health system, searching for anyone who could help her mom manage her symptoms and achieve enough stability to get off the streets and into a permanent home.
Ruling rolls back staffing requirements for nursing homes

1 week ago | mtpr.org | Aaron Bolton

Last year, the Biden Administration said nursing homes would be required to have a registered nurse on the clock 24/7. The Administration also wanted enough RNs on staff to provide at least three hours of care to each patient daily, among other staffing requirements. The rule went above and beyond the standards that Congress had laid out for the nursing home industry.
Bill would split the state health department into two agencies

2 weeks ago | mtpr.org | Aaron Bolton

Rep. John Fitzpatrick of Anaconda says the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services is inefficiently running state health care facilities. Fitzpatrick takes particular issue with spending on traveling contract staff at the state psychiatric hospital. “The department did absolutely nothing in the past two years to hire state staff to operate the institution. They had the money, so they took the easy way out and continued to use travelers,” Fitzpatrick says.
Bill to track violence against health care workers is tabled

2 weeks ago | mtpr.org | Aaron Bolton

In 2023, lawmakers passed a bill that required health care facilities to report violence against workers to the Montana Department of Justice. That data collection effort is due to sunset this summer. Vicky Byrd with the Montana Nurses Association had tried to get legislation to protect medical staff passed before. “We’ve brought legislation forward to make it a misdemeanor; got shut down. Make it a felony; got shut down,” she says.
Briefs: Broadband funding on hold; Big Sky Resort settles rental property suit

3 weeks ago | mtpr.org | Aaron Bolton

Montana broadband funding is on holdAaron Bolton | Montana Public RadioMany broadband experts see fiber optic cable as the fastest and most cost-effective way to deliver high speed internet to homes. That’s why a massive federal investment to expand internet access to millions of Americans focused on that delivery method. But the Trump Administration recently announced that it wanted to rework the program to include things like satellite internet.