You will join the Benefis Health System Heart & Vascular Institute as a General / Non-Invasive Cardiologist, serving as the sole cardiac care provider across a 42,000 square mile region of northcentral Montana. That service area is close to the size of Kansas and creates immediate demand for your expertise. From your first day, you can build your schedule as quickly as you want, treating patients who currently wait months or drive 4 to 5 hours for cardiac care they cannot access closer to home.
The role can be tailored to your interests. Benefis will consider a General / Non-Invasive Cardiologist as the primary hire and is open to an invasive/general combination for the right candidate. You will work in a new clinic with 20 exam rooms and co-located cardiac rehab, choosing 40-minute initial visits and 20-minute follow-ups. Your days blend outpatient clinic with non-invasive testing, including stress testing, echocardiography, nuclear medicine, and TEE, with inpatient work if you want it.
Benefis serves 230,000 residents across a 14-county region in northcentral Montana and functions as the regional tertiary center. In cardiology, this role fills a direct access gap. Patients have relied heavily on locum coverage, and the nearest alternative cardiac care is hours away, so your presence shortens time to diagnosis and treatment for a large rural population.
You will join a cardiac program that includes cardiothoracic surgery (about 50 open-heart cases per year), electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, and full non-invasive services. The current team includes 2 cardiothoracic surgeons, 3 interventional cardiologists, 1 electrophysiologist, and 4 nurse practitioners supporting cardiology, along with cardiac surgery advanced practice providers. Certain advanced procedures still send patients 4 to 5 hours away, which gives an incoming physician room to help close that gap over time.
The Heart & Vascular Institute is led by Dr. Alfredo Ramirez, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon who serves as Chief. The role benefits from a physician-focused leadership model with direct, monthly access to senior physician and administrative leadership. Long-term stability, shown by a 20-plus year CEO tenure and 5.4% physician turnover, supports steady program growth.