Union representatives sat in front of a room full of patients and healthcare providers on Saturday afternoon, listening as members of the audience shared their personal experiences receiving care at Logan Health facilities. Organizers from the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) hosted the town hall to hear the opinions of patients as Logan Health primary care providers prepare to vote on whether to unionize with UAPD later this month.
Dan Jacobs, a heart transplant patient and retired nurse, said he worked at Logan Health when it was still called Kalispell Regional Medical Center. He described attending the hospital now as a heart transplant patient and having difficulty getting appointments and hearing back from doctors.
“I want this to be a good place, like it was a good place when we were nurses,” Jacobs said, referencing he and his wife who had both worked as nurses. “It’s not how this community grew up in healthcare.”
When the healthcare providers first announced they would vote to unionize, Logan Health’s Chief Medical Officer Cory Short said that hospital administration would respect the providers’ “legal rights to make their own individual decisions in the process,” noting that he believed “the best way to address concerns and deliver on our mission is through direct, open and trusted communication between employees and our management team.”
An orthopedic surgeon and patient, Dr. Chad Ferguson shared his experience navigating the healthcare system as a patient with a rare spinal condition, relying on his primary care physician as a “quarterback” to help him understand his condition, set up appointments and fill out disability paperwork.
Orthopedic surgeon and patient Dr. Chad Ferguson shares his experience with the health care system since developing a rare spinal condition, at a town hall hosted by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists at the Northwest Montana History Museum in Kalispell on Jan. 3, 2026. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
“It’s a hard thing for them to put their mind around, especially when they’re being asked to see 25% more patients for the same pay, you know,” Ferguson said. “What are you going to do if you don’t have a good primary care doctor? Because good doctors leave and they go find a better situation elsewhere.”
UAPD President Dr. Stuart Bussey and Donna Nelson, a Logan Health nurse and delegate for SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, the bargaining unit for 650 Logan Health nurses, responded to patients concerns. Bussey encouraged attendees to create a patient advocacy group, and Nelson pointed to unionizing as a way for providers to successfully advocate for their patients’ needs.
“You deserve as a member of this community to have the best care possible,” Nelson said. “When employers of any kind don’t take care of their employees, who suffers? Those receiving the services from those employees. We want to make that change. Physicians are standing up and saying, ‘no, we’re not going to do this anymore, our patients deserve better’ – and that’s what we’re here to support.”
Donna Nelson, member of the SEIU union and a Logan Health nurse appears at the “Putting Patients First Healthcare Town Hall,” hosted by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists at the Northwest Montana History Museum in Kalispell on Jan. 3, 2026. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Logan Health healthcare providers filed to unionize at the beginning of December, citing that despite attempts to bring concerns to hospital administration, staffing shortages and unsustainable workloads have continued to make a patient-centered model of care unfeasible. They’ve also said they’re concerned about the system of centralized scheduling that routes patients to hospital staff to make appointments at their respective clinics, and that it means scheduling decisions are made without knowing a doctors preference, “making it very difficult for people to be seen,” one primary care physician said in a conversation last week with the Beacon.
“If you call in and want to talk to a nurse, that also goes to a pool of people who have never set foot inside of our clinic,” he said.
Logan Health primary care doctors and advanced practice providers are set to cast their votes on whether to unionize with UAPD on January 14 and 15. Providers from Kalispell, Lakeside, Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Eureka, Whitefish and Polson will be taking part in the vote.
Points brought up by patients, healthcare providers and community members about the state of health care in Northwest Montana at a town hall hosted by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists at the Northwest Montana History Museum in Kalispell on Jan. 3, 2026. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon