New audiology center to open in Libby

Dr. Stacia Moore started seeing patients in Libby five years ago. Now, instead of seeing patients once per month, her practice has grown to such an extent that Moore Hearing will be opening a permanent location in Libby on March 27.

Moore, who has been practicing for years in Kalispell, started working in Libby at the urging of a long-time patient, Norma Munro. Tired of driving to Kalispell for her care, Norma told Moore, “you should come to Libby.”

And so it began. Moore partnered with Cabinet Peaks Medical Center for space, operating out of the visiting physician space in the medical arts building.

“The hospital has been extremely gracious with us,” Moore said.

Her practice in Libby, though, has grown beyond the capability of the visiting physician space. She now comes to Libby between eight and 10 days per month, which has created some scheduling conflicts with her practice and that of other specialists who share the space at the hospital.

“It has grown to a point that it’s better for us to have our own space here,” she said. “We started looking around for places to rent and decided, financially, it was better for us to buy.”

Moore has purchased the building at 317 Mineral Avenue and is in the process of remodeling it to suit not just her business’ needs, but also to suit the needs of new businesses in Libby. The building now contains seven offices, two of which Moore Hearing will occupy, as well as a shared reception area, restrooms and kitchen.

Dr. Moore plans to be open three days per week in the Libby office, with at least one of those days dedicated exclusively to veterans, her particular passion and inspiration.

Libby’s veterans, Moore said, are caught in the middle of a bureaucratic mess. Libby falls under the jurisdiction of the Washington Veterans Administration, not Montana’s, as do veterans in Kalispell.

It used to make sense, Moore said, to have the Libby patients under the auspices of Washington. Prior to care being available in Kalispell, veterans needed to travel to Fort Harrison. With the availability of care in Kalispell, however, the system is no longer efficient.

“It made sense in the beginning,” Moore said. “Now it’s just outdated logic.”

Moore said one of the largest challenges she has faced with care of Libby patients has been the outdated logic of the Veterans Administration. Patients need to obtain a referral from their primary care physician in order to receive specialty care, such as audiology. Because Libby and Kalispell are under different jurisdictions, though, Moore Hearing has to juggle two entirely different systems for authorization and for reimbursement.

Moore said the task is not an easy one, but it’s also not insurmountable. Her first veteran patient under the jurisdiction of the Washington VA was fitted with his hearing aid just last week.

Hearing care, Moore said, goes beyond a test and a hearing aid. Proper care requires visits every three to six months and hearing aids require maintenance, upkeep and repair. A six-hour round trip from Libby to Spokane, Wash., for routine care or maintenance is just too great a burden to place on veterans, Moore said.

Although it means additional administrative hassles for her and her staff, Moore said it’s worth it to be able to provide care for veterans.

“It’s just the right thing to do. Veterans have been mistreated enough by the system,” she said. “They should get what they’ve earned, what they’re due. It’s just not right.”