Mountainside Medical opens in Stevensville

by John Dowd

As the world progresses, development and growth are unavoidable. This can often mean bigger buildings, corporate-run businesses and sometimes a greater disconnect between businesses and their clients. However, it is also the belief of many that not all things need to be this way. According to the owners of Mountainside Medical, primary care is one of these things. 

Carson Gomez and her husband Ignacio officially started their business, Mountainside Medical in Stevensville, on October 23 of this year. They focus on adult and geriatric primary care. Carson has a background in the emergency room and Ignacio is a paramedic who has worked for companies like North American Rescue. Both have a passion for patient care, and want to revisit the idea of the “small town physician” that was so integral to communities in the past. 

The Gomez family moved from Las Vegas, Nevada in 2022. Prior to living in Montana, Carson was a nurse for 10 years. “My heart was with the emergency room,” said Carson, but “I didn’t want to raise my kids in Vegas.”

When they moved to Montana, Carson worked for United Healthcare, doing Medicare Advantage assessments. This took her all over the state, away from home, often for four to six days at a time. This was while their youngest child was around four, and she said this was hard on both her and the kids. Eventually, “God just really laid on my heart that I should open up my own primary care,” said Carson. The decision came from seeing how primary care often works in big corporate hospitals as well from her own time away from family. 

They took the plunge, and now, Mountainside Medical is open for business. Along with providing primary care, they can also do IV infusions, tele-health and many lab services in house for patients, so their patients don’t need to travel far or deal with large companies. With all this combined, including her emergency room experience, her hope is to be able to keep people out of the ER as much as possible and to bring back the old fashioned idea of the “small-town doctor.” 

Carson, certified Adult and Geriatric Care Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, added that they bill insurance and take all major insurances, including VA. She said they will be on call and “we want to be available to our patients.” She described their business, “like a concierge doctor without concierge prices.” As they grow, they hope to be able to do a lot more. 

Her philosophy is, “You are in control of your health.” As she explained, in many large companies, doctors may need to push certain treatments, but she said Mountainside Medical will never push any treatments. Her method is to educate people on the treatments as best she can, and let the patients make the decision without any pressure. “It’s their body and their choice.” She hates the idea of pushing treatments she may not even support. “I just want patients to be more involved in their health care,” said Carson.

They want to give the community the opportunity to get to know them. Ignacio said, “Come and meet us!” Interested patients can call and set up an appointment so they can actually meet their provider. “Most places won’t give you that opportunity,” added Ignacio.

Mountainside Medical is located at the Headwaters Wellness building in Stevensville, at 212 Main Street. Interested parties can call them at (406) 303-9781 or visit their website, www.mountainsidemedicalmt.com