Benton Receives State Trauma Award

Post author By starkmedia
Post date September 29, 2023

Benton Receives State Trauma Award

Benton [L] accompanied by Dr. William Oley, Medical Director at Beartooth, accepts the Excellence in Trauma award.

Chris Benton, RN and Trauma Coordinator for Beartooth Billings Clinic was awarded one of two Excellence in Trauma Awards September 22 by Alyssa Johnson, State of Montana Trauma System Manager, during the annual Rocky Mountain Rural Trauma Symposium in Billings. He was nominated by Dr. Jose Ortiz.

Benton has worked for Beartooth Billings Clinic since 1996 and was designated the Trauma Coordinator position in 2008 which he continues currently. His passion for trauma care helped Beartooth gain State Trauma Receiving Facility designation and prestigious listing as a Top 100 National Critical Access Hospital in 2019. His assistance in redesigning local trauma care processes kinetically aligns with his innovative injury prevention programs. In 2014 the Slide Safe and Dress Smart Program, cocreation with Anne Kosorok, won the National Ski Area Association award for helmet injury prevention. Other programs with Benton’s influence include Stop the Bleed, fall prevention, seatbelt use, and Red Lodge Mountain Ski Patrol case review programs.

“Congratulations to Chris for his recent recognition for Excellence in Trauma – it is with dedicated effort and time invested that he has won this accolade for his contributions to the Trauma program at Beartooth Billings Clinic”, states Bridgett Chartier, Chief Nursing Officer at Beartooth.