Bonnie Stephens, MD Appointed Chief Medical Officer

Community Medical Center has appointed Bonnie Stephens, MD, as Chief Medical Officer, effective May 1, 2022. In her new role, Dr. Stephens will oversee all clinical care, with a focus on patient safety, clinical quality and physician engagement. Reporting to Bob Gomes, CEO of Community Medical Center, Dr. Stephens and the senior leadership team will work together to champion the LifePoint National Quality Program – implementing programs and processes to achieve high standards of quality and patient safety across our organization.

“Dr. Stephens brings more than 20 years of experience as a practicing physician, including more than 10 of those years here at Community Medical Center,” said Bob Gomes, FACHE, chief executive officer for Community Medical Center. “She is a well-respected physician with strong medical staff leadership experience and an investment in our community. We are confident in her ability to pursue excellence in patient safety and clinical quality, deliver innovative clinical improvements, and be a resource and advocate for medical providers, staff and the community we serve.”

Dr. Stephens earned her MD at Northwestern University Medical School. After her pediatrics residency at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Dr. Stephens completed both a neonatal/perinatal medicine fellowship and a developmental/behavioral pediatrics fellowship at Brown University/Women and Infants’ Hospital / Rhode Island Hospital. She joined Community Medical Center in 2011 and a short time later became the Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In this role, she championed many quality improvement projects including developing a robust developmental care program – introducing both 24/7 neonatal respiratory therapy and 24/7 in-house neonatal nurse practitioners to the care team, and has led the NICU through 5+ years with no central line (CLABSI) infections. As one of only two developmental-behavioral pediatricians in the state, she led her team to develop the only multidisciplinary clinic in Montana for children with complex developmental and behavioral problems. This team works with families to evaluate and treat children with developmental differences such as cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorders, genetic disorders, and learning disorders. She is also the medical director of the Child Development Center in Missoula and the Mother’s Milk Bank of Montana and serves on the board of the Ronald MacDonald House Charities of Western Montana.

Dr. Stephens was elected president of the Medical Staff for Community Medical Center in 2021. She holds an academic appointment of clinical assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. In addition to her new role as the CMO, Dr. Stephens will continue to oversee clinical care in the NICU, as well as maintain her developmental behavioral pediatrics practice.

“I’m excited to join the leadership team at Community Medical Center and look forward to continuing to advance patient safety and clinical quality in our hospital. My goal is to not only ensure that we are providing the highest quality care, but to help make every patient and loved one who enters our doors feel safe and well cared for.”