Billings Clinic once again designated by state as Comprehensive Trauma Center

Designation aligns with Level I Trauma Center verification

Billings, MT — Billings Clinic has once again been designated by the State of Montana as a Comprehensive Trauma Center. The designation, which was verified in August by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services’ Office of EMS and Trauma Systems, indicates the highest level of trauma care available in Montana, and aligns with the American College of Surgeons’ (ACS) Level I Trauma Center verification.

For Roger Kerzner, MD, a cardiologist from Pennsylvania, that level of trauma care became very real during a ski trip in Montana in March. After falling onto a tree branch while skiing, Dr. Kerzner was initially taken to the emergency department in Big Sky, where imaging revealed that a large piece of the branch had penetrated his upper chest. He was flown to Billings by Billings Clinic MedFlight, where a multidisciplinary trauma and surgical team was waiting to care for him. After surgery and several days in the hospital, Dr. Kerzner was discharged less than a week after the accident. Within two months, he said he was fully recovered and back to his normal exercise routine.

“What impressed me most was the entire team,” Dr. Kerzner said. “The surgeons, nurses, CNAs and everyone who cared for me were phenomenal. Throughout my stay, people were checking on me, explaining what was happening and helping however they could. The care was exceptional.”

Billings Clinic earned Level I Trauma Center verification from ACS in 2023 and was re-verified by ACS in 2026. In early 2024, it became the first organization in Montana to earn the newly created state designation. Montana did not have established criteria for the Comprehensive Trauma Center designation prior to 2024.

The need for complex trauma care continues to grow. Billings Clinic cared for nearly 1,500 trauma patients during the past year, a nearly 20% increase from its initial Level I Trauma Center verification in 2023. Nearly half of those patients were transferred to Billings Clinic from communities across the region, and approximately one in four were classified as severely injured.

“Every part of our trauma program is built around being ready when someone needs us,” said Gordon Riha, MD, FACS, Billings Clinic trauma surgeon and Assistant Trauma Medical Director. “This state designation reflects the work of an incredible team across Billings Clinic and our commitment to providing the highest level of trauma care for patients across Montana and our region.”

Access to advanced trauma care is particularly important in a rural state like Montana, where patients may be hundreds of miles from the specialized services needed to treat a serious injury. Billings Clinic has the busiest Emergency Department in the state, caring for more than 50,000 patients each year, while also receiving trauma patients transferred from hospitals and communities across the region. Billings Clinic works closely with emergency medical services, hospitals and other health care organizations to help patients get to the right level of care as quickly as possible.

As a Comprehensive Trauma Center and ACS-verified Level I Trauma Center, Billings Clinic has specialists, staff and resources available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to care for patients with the most complex and life-threatening injuries. The designation also recognizes Billings Clinic’s role in advancing trauma care through education, research, quality improvement, injury prevention and collaboration with partners throughout the regional trauma system.

About Billings Clinic

Billings Clinic and Logan Health are united as a not-for-profit, Montana-based, independent health care system focused on keeping people close to home and connecting care in communities throughout the region. The unified health system serves an area that includes most of Montana, northern Wyoming and the western Dakotas. A not-for-profit organization led by a physician CEO, Billings Clinic is governed by a board of community members, nurses and physicians. At its core, Billings Clinic is a physician-led, integrated multispecialty group practice with a 336-bed hospital and Montana’s first Level I Trauma Center. Billings Clinic is the largest trauma center and the first established and longest standing ACS-COT continually accredited trauma center in the state of Montana. Billings Clinic has more than 4,500 employees, including nearly 600 physicians and advanced practitioners offering more than 80 specialties. Billings Clinic is the first Magnet-designated health care organization in Montana and a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. More information can be found at www.billingsclinic.com.