NV Hospital appoints new chief of staff
Dr. Mirna Bowden is North Valley Hospital's new chief of staff. As a physician dedicated to advocacy and outreach, Bowden, a board-certified in OB/GYN, is a perfect fit for the position.
"Since coming here seven years ago, I have wanted to contribute to the growth of North Valley Hospital and provide support to the direction it's going," Bowden said.
As this year's voice for the medical profession, one of Bowden's goals is to involve the medical staff in electronic medical records, which is the preliminary support system of the state's Health Information Exchange of Montana. Bowden plans to work with other physicians to ease any discomforts they may have through education and peer-to-peer discussions.
Another goal she wishes to fulfill during her term is to provide an outreach of the hospital's medical staff to underserved areas, such as Libby and Eureka. Many of these outlying areas are not familiar with the services provided and the quality medical staff of this area, which she hopes to dispel.
The third goal Bowden plans to accomplish is improving relationships between all the area physicians to provide a network of physicians that work together to serve our community.
As an OB/GYN, Bowden is very passionate about women's health. She feels that North Valley Hospital provides women with a very comfortable environment to receive their care, with the most up-to-date technology.
This is key to the hospital's success, and she says she will do what she can to see this continue. As one of the many physicians who was part of the hospital's move to its current location, Bowden said the hospital's biggest asset is the staff that moved, too.
"It would just be a beautiful new building with state-of-the-art equipment if the staff hadn't come along," she said. "They are more important than the structure or anything else. They are North Valley Hospital's greatest strength, and people come here because of their excellence."
Upon finishing her residency in OB/GYN at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in 2002, Bowden and her husband Brett moved to Whitefish and joined Alpine Women's Center in Whitefish.
Shortly afterward, she gave birth to twins Scott and Abigail. She feels this is a wonderful community and fits nicely with her passion to horseback ride, swim and hike.
Bowden is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha. She is excited about her new role as chief of staff because her hospital and foundation board appointments allow her to be around so many prominent members of the community.
Bowden succeeds Dr. Matt Bailey as chief of staff. Additional medical staff officers are vice chief Dr. Richard Friedman and secretary/treasurer Dr. Beth White.