Philanthropic Priorities

The art of healing at Billings Clinic

At Billings Clinic, we’ve combined the science and technology of medicine with the aesthetics of the arts to create and sustain an atmosphere and attitude of a healing environment. Music, art, literature, building design and human interaction combine to enhance our medical foundation model of providing care for the whole person.

An important element of a healing environment is Music Therapy, a clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to address cognitive, emotional, physical, and social needs of patients. While the practice of treating a patient with music to achieve personalized clinical outcomes may seem like a new idea, the extraordinary qualities of music as a healing tool have been recognized for hundreds of years. Research in Music Therapy supports its effectiveness in many areas; physical rehabilitation, increased motivation and will to live, emotional support for patients and their families, and an outlet or expression of feelings.

The many forms of Music Therapy as a healing force varies based on individualized needs of a patient. For infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Music Therapy has been shown to have a positive effect on infant heart rate, behavioral states, oxygen saturation levels, feeding abilities and a reduction in their length of stay. Music therapy has also been shown to positively affect the parents and families of these tiny babies by decreasing stress levels and increasing infant-parent bonding through family centered approaches to care. Music Therapy is also effective in supporting cancer patients during their treatment process by promoting wellness, improving physical and emotional well-being, and their overall quality of life.

Your support of a new Music Therapy program at Billings Clinic will bring the power of healing to patients and families in our region, helping to educate, inspire, and ensure access to quality Music Therapy services for every infant, child, teen, and adult.

To learn more click here.

Significant philanthropic support is vital to achieving the ambitious goal of training future psychiatrists to ensure affordable access to high-quality, innovative health care for residents, delivered close to home. The best strategy for continuous support of the Psychiatry Residency program is the establishment of an endowment. Our goal is to create an endowment fund of $3.3 million exclusively for support of the Psychiatry Residency program. The fund will hold its original investment in perpetuity and distribute a portion of each year’s investment earnings toward program annual shortfall. While these earnings are not likely to fund the entire annual program need, this fund will provide substantial and predictable income each year.

Benefactors of Billings Clinic can support our work in addressing the mental health and substance abuse crisis in the region through gifts to the Psychiatry Residency Program Endowment Fund. Gifts to the fund may be eligible for the Montana Endowment Tax Credit (METC), allowing the giver to make a significant impact while reducing Montana State income tax. Tax credits are more valuable than deductions, because a tax credit is subtracted directly from taxes you owe while a deduction reduces the income on which you are taxed.

To learn more click here.

Your contribution to the Miracle Fund is needed to establish this important resource to help families start life together. Please consider a gift to the Miracle Fund.

Billings Clinic Reproductive Endocrinology, in collaboration with Billings Clinic Foundation, has established the Miracle Fund for patients who have been diagnosed with fertility issues and need the assistance of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in order to become pregnant.

To be considered for Miracle Fund financial assistance, patients must meet the following criteria:

• A confirmed diagnosis of infertility and the need to undergo IVF to become pregnant.
• Current evaluation of both parents by REI physician with the conclusion of a good prognosis(good chance IVF will be successful, and woman is fit to carry pregnancy).
• Both partners need to be citizens of the United States and residents of Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, or South Dakota.
• Total combined household income equal to or less than $120,000/year.
• Agree to a background check through the submittal of this application.
• Scholarship application deadline is September 1, 2020.

Download the Billings Clinic Miracle Fund Scholarship packet

There is a special group of kids at Billings Clinic with cancer or other serious blood disorders known as Kelker’s Kids. Billings Clinic has been caring for Kelker’s Kids since 1978 when Dr. Paul Kelker started the first pediatric oncology program in Montana.

The Kelker’s Kids Fund was established at Billings Clinic Foundation to financially assist families during these difficult times. These children and their families face overwhelming challenges of prolonged cancer treatments, distressing side effects and an uncertain future. The fund helps families pay for expenses such as travel necessary for cancer treatment, rent, utility bills, and other needs.

One hundred percent of the funds raised for the Kelker’s Kids Fund go directly to families of patients who live in Montana or our service area.

Visit kelkerskids.com to learn more.

Billings Clinic has the largest Pediatric Specialty Clinic in the region which includes pediatric cardiology, neurology, urology, pulmonology, endocrinology, and neonatology. The Piggy Bank Fund provides much needed assistance, supporting families during some of the most trying times in their lives. The fund helps families pay for expenses such as utility bills, rent, travel costs, and other needs.

One hundred percent of the funds raised for the Piggy Bank Fund go directly to families of patients who live in Montana or our service area. Through the Piggy Bank Fund, Billings Clinic pediatricians and pediatric specialists care not just for kids but for entire families.

Getting the best healthcare sometimes means patients must travel far from home, oftentimes spending many days or weeks away. A typical stem cell patient will have to stay in the area for seven to ten days following the first procedure. They will then return two weeks later where they will be required to stay for one month. The emotional and financial burden on patients and caregivers can be overwhelming. The Patient Family Lodging Assistance Fund was set up to assist families when their healthcare treatment plan requires them to be away from home for extended periods of time.

Watching someone you love suffer is a difficult and heart-wrenching experience. Their pain is not only physical; it is emotional and spiritual as well. They grieve the loss of good health and often fear an unknown future. Families also struggle as they deal with the often-overwhelming circumstances of their loved one’s condition. Chaplains in our Pastoral Care Department are here to be as helpful and supportive as possible to all patients and families. Each chaplain has his or her own style in bringing comfort and care to patients, family members, and friends. All Billings Clinic chaplains are trained to offer respect for spirituality and religious traditions. Many patients at Billings Clinic come from out-of-town, and frequent visits from their hometown clergy are not always possible. Billings Clinic chaplains certainly can’t take that person’s place, but they can provide spiritual support and a listening ear while families are here in Billings. Your support of the Pastoral Care program ensures that Chaplains are available to contribute to healing in many ways, including:

• Spiritual and emotional care to help you and your family cope with illness
• Support through trauma or emergencies
• Sharing prayer, scripture, and sacraments
• Visitation before surgery for spiritual and emotional support
• Help in grief and loss, including a grief support group
• Assistance in connecting you with spiritual care resources that are important to you
• Sharing joy over good news
• Compassionate caring and listening
• Devotional services in the hospital chapel and the psychiatric center