Our Founders
Dr. E.M. Larson, General Practice and Surgery
Dr. P.F. Kearney, Obstetrics
Dr. R. B. Durnin, Internal Medicine
Dr. E. M. Porter, Orthopaedics
It was a windy Montana evening when four young doctors, already busy enough in their solo practices of frontier-type medicine, met under the leadership of Dr. E.M. “Pa” Larson, a general practitioner and surgeon, and decided to become a clinic of specialists. Thus, the Great Falls Clinic, the first group practice in Montana, and one of the first in the West, was born in 1917.
Joined by a desire to improve medical care in North central Montana, these four general practitioners felt they could practice more effectively and efficiently through group practice. This pioneering tradition of medicine continues to thrive today at the Great Falls Clinic.
Patient Centered, Physician Led
- 1917
- Great Falls Clinic opens
- 1928
- Great Falls Clinic moves to the Strain Building in Great Falls, Montana
- 1952
- Great Falls Clinic moves to 1220 Central Avenue in Great Falls, Montana
- 1984
- Great Falls Clinic moves to new Main Clinic at 1400 29th Street South in Great Falls, Montana
- 1989
- Great Falls Clinic recruits the first Pediatric Cardiologist to Great Falls
- 1992
- Great Falls Clinic recruits the first Neonatologist to Great Falls
- 1992
- Great Falls Clinic launches Level 3 Neonatology program
- 1993
- Great Falls Clinic recruits the first Perinatologist to Great Falls
- 1994
- Great Falls Clinic expands the Main Clinic in Great Falls
- 1995
- Great Falls Clinic introduces the region’s first stereotactic breast biopsy
- 1996
- Great Falls Clinic opens a new location at 914 4th Street NW in Choteau, Montana
- 1996
- Great Falls Clinic partners with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana
- 1997
- Great Falls Clinic affiliates with Helena Family Physicians at 820 Montana Avenue in Helena, Montana
- 1999
- Great Falls Clinic opens the Great Falls Clinic - Surgery Center at 1509 29th Street South in Great Falls, Montana
- 2000
- Great Falls Clinic opens the Northwest Clinic at 1600 Division Road in Great Falls, Montana
- 2000
- Great Falls Clinic introduces region’s first “open” MRI
- 2001
- Great Falls Clinic opens the Helena Physicians’ Clinic at 3330 Ptarmigan Lane in Helena, Montana, with the addition of Internal Medicine to the Helena Family Physicians.
- 2001
- Great Falls Clinic opens new location at 324 Central in Fairfield, Montana
- 2003
- Great Falls Clinic implements the region’s first electronic medical record (EMR)
- 2004
- Great Falls Clinic recruits physicians for its new Hospitalist program
- 2004
- Great Falls Clinic opens Great Falls Clinic - Marketplace at 2012 14th Street SW in Great Falls, Montana
- 2005
- Great Falls Clinic opens new Specialty Center and Clinic Cancer Care at 3000 15th Avenue South in Great Falls, Montana
- 2006
- Great Falls Clinic and Essentia Health partner acquire Central Montana Surgical Hospital at 1411 9th Street South in Great Falls, Montana
- 2008
- Great Falls Clinic affiliates with Mercury Street Medical Group at 300 West Mercury and Focused MedCare at 3703 Harrison Avenue in Butte, Montana.
- 2008
- Great Falls Clinic partners with Bozeman Surgical Arts, Bozeman, Montana