Bozeman Deaconess Hospital records, 1911-2023

The Bozeman Deaconess Hospital was founded in 1911 when the city of Bozeman and the Methodist Church both contributed $10,000 to purchase a sanitarium owned by Dr. J. F. Blair on the corner of Lamme Street and Tracy Avenue. The hospital was initially operated by Methodist church deaconesses, women who dedicated their lives to service by performing patient care and janitorial duties, typically receiving a small stipend plus room and board. The hospital was also overseen by a managing board of community and church members. By 1920, additional hospital facilities were constructed after a fund raising campaign and the former sanatorium building was renovated to house the Deaconess nurses. In 1956, the governing board at Bozeman Deaconess purchased 500 acres of land east of town. The hospital initially built a retirement home on some of the property, the Hillcrest Retirement Community, and in 1986 moved into a new 86 bed facility constructed nearby. The hospital continues to expand at its new location to meet the needs of a growing population.

An important part of the hospital's function has been and continues to be the training of student nurses. The Deaconess system of nursing education involved several other Montana hospitals in Great Falls, Havre, and Billings, with each hospital annually graduating its own group of newly "capped" nurses. In 1937 the Bozeman Deaconess Hospital partnered with Montana State College to offer more structured academic training for nursing students. For many years after the merge, those nurses who graduated from either the earlier Deaconess program or the MSC affiliation continued to maintain contact through an alumni association.