MEDICAL STAFF
Marsha L. Atherton, MD
Marsha Atherton grew up in a small town in the upper peninsula of Michigan and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit and residency at Providence Hospital Family Medicine Program in Southfield, MI. She joined the GCHC team in 2010 and became the medical director of the clinic in 2011.
Michele Beebe, FNP
Michelle Beebe is a Family Nurse Practitioner who is a U.S. Army veteran and has worked as an ICU, ER and medical surgical registered nurse prior to attending a NP master’s program at MSU Bozeman. She is Board Certified for Family Practice through AANP (American Association of Nurse Practitioners). She has a goal of adding her psychiatric certification. She has worked in emergency rooms in Poplar and Glasgow as well as throughout northeastern Montana, and she worked for the VA in both Glasgow and Cut Bank before returning to the ER at NRMC in 2014. Special interests include health promotion and disease prevention, Yoga, and fitness, and loves include her cats, skiing, Glacier Park, and music.
Christy Branch RN
Christy Branch RN, GCHC’s Director of Nursing, has worked in nursing for eight years. She has an acute care, long term care and clinic background. She has lived in Cut Bank for twenty years, is married to Dwayne, and has two children, Payton and Kanon.
Joseph Shollenbarger FNP
Joseph Shollenbarger is a Family Nurse Practitioner who grew up in a rural farming community in the Texas Panhandle and a small community near Taos, New Mexico. He obtained my BSN and MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner at West Texas A&M University. He worked as an RN in the ER, Adult Surgical and Trauma ICUs, PACU and Pediatric ICU. He worked as a Psychiatric Correctional Nurse while obtaining his Master’s degree in Nursing. After graduation with Advanced Practice privileges, he worked as a Family Nurse Practitioner in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He served both male and female patients. He spent two years serving on Active Duty as a United States Army Reserve Officer at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, after September 2001. He spent seven years working Adult Internal Medicine in Corpus Christi Corpus, Texas. Joseph moved locally in June 2020 to implement the GCHC Palliative Care Program. It is his great pleasure to utilize all his various experience to help citizens in the community manage the inevitable decline in health and activity that accompanies chronic illness and ageing.
Chris Calerich FNP
Chris Calerich is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner and grew up in Denver, CO. He moved to Utah to pursue a nursing career. He has an extensive nursing background, where he worked in hospice, long term care, ICU and ER. He received his master’s degree from the University of Colorado. He has always had a passion for living and working in rural communities. He and his wife have 4 children. They love to go camping whenever they get the chance. Other interests include hiking, fishing, hunting and any outdoor exploring.
DENTAL STAFF
Danielle Kennedy, DDS
Dr. Danielle Kennedy has been practicing dentistry for five years at IHS in Browning. A Cut Bank native, she got her dental degree from the University of Washington and then came back to the area. Dr. Kennedy started with GCHC in March 2018 as dental director.
Donald Ririe, DDS
Donald Ririe graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in dentisty. He then worked in a private practice in Utah, followed by five years with Kaiser in Oregon, and another six years in private practice in Portland. While in Portland he did sedation dentistry to help fearful patients get over their fear of dentists, thereby developing and building trust which helped them get over their fear of dentists. Dr. Ririe and family live in MacGrath, Alberta, where they relocated to be near his mother. Dr. Ririe works for GCHC on Mondays through Wednesdays.
MacKenzie Carlson, RDH
MacKenzie Carlson joined the GCHC dental team in June 2017. She attended both the University of Montana and Great Falls College MSU where she earned her dental hygiene degree. She was a dental assistant for two years prior. She was born and raised in Choteau, Montana and loves the small town life.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH STAFF
J. R. Myers, NCC, MAC, LCPC
J.R. Myers started with Glacier CHC in May 2017, coming directly from Alaska where he worked with the Kinitzee Indian tribe as a behavioral health counselor at a wellness center in Kenai. Integrated health is a special interest of his, being an avenue in which all providers on staff work as a team to offer the best care possible for their patients. J.R. grew up in Great Falls, and graduated from C.M Russell High School and the University of Great Falls. He has roots in the Cut Bank area also; his great-grandfather homesteaded west of Cut Bank. He is happy to return to this area and is always looking for ways to be involved in the community.
Angela Black, LCPC
Angela Black is a therapist who earned her Master’s degree from Bellevue University in Clinical Counseling. She is originally from the Hi-Line and pursued the helping profession to fulfill her desires to work with individuals and families in rural areas. She has been in the mental health field for the past nine years and has worked primarily with children and families as a CSCT therapist since 2014. She is happy to pursue her passion of helping people improve and maintain optimal functioning in everyday life in the Cut Bank area.