Logan Health Primary Care Providers Look to Unionize
The group of primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants are seeking representation through the Union of American Physicians and Dentists
By Zoë Buhrmaster
Dozens of Logan Health primary care providers this week launched an initiative to unionize amid concerns centered on inadequate staffing levels and unsustainable workloads bogging down patient care at the Flathead Valley healthcare system.
Providers filed a petition Thursday morning with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to unionize with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD). About 55 primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and advanced practice providers from Logan Health clinics across Flathead Valley have joined in the organizing effort.
“Primary care is the foundation of our healthcare system, but right now, providers are being pushed to the breaking point,” a Logan Health physician said in a prepared statement accompanying the announcement, which aired numerous concerns. “We’re coming together to unionize because we need a real voice in the decisions that directly affect our patients. When providers are supported, patients benefit. What we want is to return to a more sustainable, patient-centered model of care that reflects the Planetree principles of compassion, respect, and partnership.”
The providers’ announcement comes just over four years after Logan Health nurses ratified their first union contract, a journey that took nearly two years of negotiations between hospital administrators and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, the bargaining unit for 650 Logan Health nurses.
UAPD represents over 7,000 physicians, dentists and advanced practice clinicians throughout the United States with more than 30 bargaining units. Alexandria Honey, one of the lead organizers at UAPD working with the Logan Health providers, said that negotiations usually take a year or more to secure a contract, depending on the measures groups take during the bargaining process.
“Things are kind of moving quickly right now as this process has just started yesterday,” Honey told the Beacon on Friday.
Providers reached out to UAPD a little over a year ago with concerns about low staffing levels, Honey said, reporting that Logan Health had lost around 20 primary care providers in the past couple years. Many providers said they see at least five new patients per day. With open-ended panel sizes – meaning there’s no cap on how many patients are assigned to each doctor – workloads are only continuing to grow, resulting in less time with the patient and provider burnout.
“Some of them have expressed that their panels are anywhere from 1,000 plus, and are open-ended,” Honey said. “That’s a big concern.”
Just a few hours before the providers filed Thursday morning, Logan Health administrators reportedly made an internal announcement that the hospital would be hiring 10 full-time employees across the primary care system by Jan. 15, 2026, according to several providers involved in the filing.
“The plan for additional non-clinical support staff has been in the works for several months and it is our plan to move forward with these additions,” Logan Health spokesperson Chris Leopold said on Friday.
Providers from the following nine clinics participated in the filing:
- Logan Health Family Health Care – 1287 Burns Way, Kalispell
- Logan Health Primary Care – 70 Village Loop, Kalispell
- Logan Health Primary Care – 1280 Burns Way, Kalispell
- Logan Health Primary Care Big Sky – 160 Heritage Way, Kalispell
- Logan Health Primary Care – 1675 Talbot Road, Columbia Falls
- Logan Health Primary Care – 306 Stoner Loop, Lakeside
- Logan Health Primary Care – 705 6th Avenue East, Kalispell
- Logan Health Primary Care – 1850 Ninth Street (U.S. Highway 2), Columbia Falls
- Logan Health Primary Care – 8299 Montana Highway 35, Bigfork
“We value our employees and respect their legal rights to make their own individual decisions in this process, and will fully comply with all NLRB procedures,” Cory Short, Logan Health’s Chief Medical Officer, said in an email.
“I believe that the best way to address concerns and deliver on our mission is through direct, open and trusted communication between employees and our management team,” he continued. “I remain fully committed to that approach and the commitment to our system’s mission of providing compassionate care to every patient we serve.”
The next step is for the NLRB to review the groups petition for a collective bargaining unit through the UAPD. An election date and method will be determined in the next couple of weeks, Honey said.
“For years, providers have been asking for these changes through the proper channels with no action from leadership,” according to UAPD President Dr. Stuart Bussey. “Then, on the day they file to unionize, Logan Health suddenly announces a hiring plan. It’s no coincidence. With a union, providers have the power to ensure Logan Health listens and follows through. Now it’s time to negotiate a legally binding contract that outlines the terms and conditions needed to solve these problems – not just promises made in response to a union filing.”