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Longtime Certified Nurse Midwife Opens New Private Practice

Pady Dusing, a pioneer in her field, provides comprehensive women’s health care and is now accepting patients at her Kalispell clinic

By Myers Reece
Clinic manager Crystal Boyd, left, and Pady Dusing, a certified nurse midwife, stand in the new Glacier Women's Health & Wellness Center on Feb. 21. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

Following the autumn closure of her former clinic, longtime certified nurse midwife Pady Dusing has opened a new private practice one door down from her old Kalispell location, now operating independent of the hospital system.

Dusing, who has developed a loyal following of hundreds of patients after practicing for 30 years in the valley, was unsure of her future after North Valley Hospital (NVH) informed her last July that it would close Glacier Maternity & Women’s Center and gave her patients through September to find a new provider. The hospital said the practice was no longer financially viable after the departure of other providers.

After some soul-searching, which included contemplating retirement, Dusing said the pieces began falling into place to start her own practice. For one, the office space next door to her former Commons Loop clinic was available. For another, her longtime clinic manager, Crystal Boyd, whom she has worked with for two decades, was onboard.

Dusing and Boyd began accepting patients on Feb. 12 under the name Glacier Women’s Health & Wellness Center. They’ve been booked out of the gates.

“I decided I’m not ready to retire,” Dusing said last week. “I love what I do, and I also got a lot of feedback from patients saying, ‘You can’t retire.’”

“The stars aligned,” she added, reiterating Boyd’s critical role in her decision. “I wouldn’t have done this without Crystal.”

Dusing continues to practice comprehensive women’s health care, which she transitioned to following years of specializing in pregnancy and birthing. Some patients have been with her for 20 or more years. A number of women had their babies with her, and now their daughters also receive health care from her.

In interviews, patients said Dusing is irreplaceable in their lives both because of her ability to foster relationships and her specialized medical expertise, particularly in menopausal care, which includes training and extensive experience in certain hormone therapies. They said Dusing is the only local provider who offers some of those services.

A procession of Dusing’s patients protested the former clinic’s closing in letters and phone calls, and now those patients are cheering their provider’s return. Sitting in Dusing’s new office on Feb. 21, one of those patients, Janet Holter, recalled feeling “devastated” when she heard Glacier Maternity was getting shut down.

“When I heard that she was going to open again, I was extremely thrilled,” Holter said.

Boyd, the office manager, was similarly exuberant.

“I love hearing patients call and say, ‘I’m so happy Pady is going again,’” Boyd said.

Dusing graduated from Baylor College of Medicine, one of the nation’s leading medical programs, in 1987 and began practicing in the valley the following year. That same year, 1988, she became the first non-MD to gain hospital privileges at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, making her a pioneer in the certified nurse midwife field.

Dusing started the area’s first nurse midwife office with obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Perry Birky. The two were in private practice together for 18 years until Birky’s retirement in 2008. Dusing opened the Flathead Valley Women’s Center in 2009 and then in 2017 transitioned to Glacier Maternity & Women’s Center under the umbrella of NVH.

Dusing has fashioned her new office to be cozy and welcoming, reflecting the personalized care she emphasizes with patients. She says her clinic is a credentialed preferred provider of all major insurance companies in Montana, and she accepts all coverage, including Medicaid and Medicare.

Though many women come to her for menopausal health, Dusing says her patients range from ages 12 to 85, and her general health services include annual and comprehensive exams, lab testing, birth control, mammograms, weight loss, DEXA bone scans and more.

“We’ve developed long-term relationships with patients,” Dusing said. “I want to continue to provide that personalized, non-hurried service. Medicine has become such a hurried business — (providers) have their hand on the door handle while they’re asking, ‘Do you have any questions?’”

Dusing tries to make sure patients feel valued, rather than rushed out the door. And she’s happy to once again have a door for them to enter.

“It’s been a major undertaking getting this started,” she said. “It’s independently owned and operated. I’m really proud of that. It’s exciting.”

Glacier Women’s Health & Wellness Center is located at 195 Commons Loop, Suite F, in Kalispell. It’s open Tuesday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (406) 752-0303.