Montana Continuing Education Requirements

Montana is the fourth largest state in the United States, with the 44th largest population. So, what does that mean? There’s a lot of land and not a lot of people, which is why Montana is a popular destination for rural travelers and homeowners. In fact, one of Montana’s towns, called Miles City, is known as the Cowboy Capital.

The state’s natural beauty and rich history, makes it unique to other states. The state is also well known for having a high percentage of Christian followers, which is also where the state’s first trained nurses derived from. In 1869, five Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas, came to Helena, Montana by stagecoach, and established St. John’s Hospital, which was the first Catholic hospital in its territory. These five women became the first trained nurses in the state.

Riding on horseback, the Sisters traveled across Montana looking for funds to establish a second hospital in Deer Lodge, Montana. Their first hospital, St. John’s, saw its first patient in 1873 and they were able to open a hospital in Deer Lodge, where they served for many decades. The Sisters were also famously known for aiding wounded soldiers after the Battle of Big Hole in 1877. They cared for patients on both sides of the fighting, the U.S. soldiers and the Nez Perce Tribe.

Today, the Sister of Charity of Leavenworth Health System is now incorporated and includes eleven hospitals and four clinics who help with the underserved community in Colorado, California, Kansas, and Montana. Without the determination and dedication of the Sisters, the nursing profession in Montana may look a lot different today.