Great Falls Clinic opens Helena specialty center for local care

Helena patients who have been driving out of town for specialty visits now have another local option on North Montana Avenue. Great Falls Clinic opened its Capital City Specialty Center at 2231 N. Montana Ave., bringing orthopedic care to Helena first and adding recurring pulmonology outreach from Patrick Smith, FNP.

The clinic said the Helena site is led by board-certified orthopedic surgeon Dr. Peter D. Hanson, who has more than 30 years of experience serving Helena and surrounding communities. Hanson is fellowship-trained in foot and ankle surgery, and Great Falls Clinic says he is carrying forward a local orthopedic legacy as the son of Dr. Harris D. Hanson, founder of Helena Orthopedic Clinic more than 60 years ago. The center is open Monday through Friday, and patients can reach it at (406) 268-3960.

The opening matters because orthopedic care often does not end with one appointment. Patients may need repeat visits for injuries, follow-up exams, injections, imaging referrals and recovery planning, all of which become harder when travel adds time, cost and missed work. By placing the service in Helena, Great Falls Clinic is trying to shorten those trips for families across Central Montana and make it easier for older adults, athletes and working patients to stay on track with treatment.

The move also drops into a Helena market that already has major specialty-care competition. Benefis Health System’s Helena Specialty Center offers outpatient surgery, infusion, imaging, lab services and 34 exam rooms, while St. Peter’s Health said that as of Dec. 1, 2025, it welcomed physicians and clinical staff from Helena Orthopaedic Clinic after that practice closed. St. Peter’s says its orthopedic team now includes joint replacements, sports medicine, trauma medicine, interventional pain management, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and orthopedic urgent care.

Great Falls Clinic said it is still evaluating additional services for the Helena center and is asking for community feedback on what specialties residents want locally. That points to a broader shift in Montana health care, where systems are increasingly putting specialty services closer to patients instead of forcing every referral through a larger hub. Billings Clinic says more than 50 providers in 20 specialties travel more than 260,000 miles a year for outreach care, a sign of how much demand exists outside the state’s largest medical centers.

In Lewis and Clark County, the new center means more than a new office address. It gives Helena-area patients another place to turn for movement-related care, and it adds another competitor in a specialty market that is still changing fast.