Healthcare is entering a new era, one in which care is tailored not only to symptoms, but also to the unique genetic makeup of each individual. At Logan Health, that future is already taking shape through the Genetics and Genomics Program, helping patients and families throughout rural and frontier communities in Montana and the surrounding region better understand their health, their risks, and their options.
Understanding Genetics and Genomics
To understand genetics and genomics, we need to define some words; it can be a bit confusing.
A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity, made up of DNA. Acting as a set of specific instructions, most genes tell your cells how to make molecules called proteins, which regulate nearly every process, structure, and function in your body. Every person carries these unique set of genetic instructions that influence health throughout their life. Genetics focuses on individual genes and how traits or conditions can be inherited within families.
A genome is an organism’s complete set of genetic material, containing all the instructions required for that organism to develop, survive, and reproduce. Genomics takes a broader view, examining a person’s entire genome and the complex interactions between genes and environmental factors.
Together, these fields are transforming healthcare. By identifying changes in DNA, providers can diagnose conditions more accurately, uncover the cause of unexplained symptoms, assess inherited disease risk, and help guide treatment decisions tailored to each individual.
Why Patients Consider Genetic Testing
Genetic testing is one of the most powerful tools in modern healthcare, offering insights that can help individuals and families make informed decisions throughout life.
Some people seek testing because of a personal or family history of disease. A history of cancer, cardiovascular conditions, neurologic disorders, or other inherited conditions may suggest an underlying genetic cause. In oncology, testing can identify hereditary cancer syndromes such as hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome or Lynch syndrome, helping individuals better understand their cancer risks and screening needs.
Others pursue testing during family planning or pregnancy. Carrier screening can identify whether prospective parents are at risk of passing certain inherited conditions to their children, while prenatal screening can provide information about the likelihood of specific chromosomal conditions during pregnancy.
Genetic information can also play an important role in treatment decisions. A common form of testing is Pharmacogenomic testing. Done with a simple check swap, saliva sample or blood draw, this test evaluates how an individual’s genetic makeup may influence their response to medications, helping providers select therapies that are more effective and less likely to cause side effects.
For some patients, genetic testing provides answers after years of uncertainty. Identifying the genetic cause of a rare disease or unexplained symptoms can end a long diagnostic journey, guide medical management, and connect families with appropriate resources and support.
Ultimately, the greatest value of genetic testing is its ability to inform proactive healthcare. Understanding genetic risk can lead to earlier screening, targeted prevention strategies, and more personalized care, often before symptoms ever develop.
A Person-Centered Approach
The Logan Health Genetics and Genomics Program is designed to make these advanced tools accessible, understandable, and actionable. Patients receive individualized risk assessment, education, testing coordination, and follow-up care tailored to their personal and family health history.
A distinguishing feature of the program is its innovative care model, which includes genetics-trained advanced practice providers working alongside genetic counselors, physician specialists, and multidisciplinary care teams. Through the integrated Logan Health system, patients also have access to a physician who is dual board-certified in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Clinical Genetics, expanding access to specialized expertise for complex prenatal inherited conditions. Together, this collaborative team helps ensure patients and families receive comprehensive genetics care close to home.
The program serves patients across the lifespan, offering services that include hereditary cancer risk assessment, prenatal and preconception counseling, pediatric genetics, pharmacogenomics (study of the body’s response to medications), cardiogenetics (study and treatment of inherited heart diseases), neurogenetics (study how DNA affects the development and function of the brain and nervous system), and rare disease evaluation.
The program also provides long-term care for individuals and families at increased genetic risk for cancer and other inherited conditions. Beyond testing, the team helps patients understand what their results mean and develop personalized plans for ongoing screening, surveillance, prevention, and specialty care. This proactive approach empowers patients and families to make informed decisions and take steps to protect their health throughout life.
Expanding Access in a Rural Region
Providing specialized services like genetics and genomics in a rural region comes with unique challenges. Logan Health serves a large and geographically dispersed population, where access to specialty care can be limited.
As demand for genetics services continues to grow, the organization has developed innovative care models to bring these services closer to patients and families. Through a combination of telehealth, outreach clinics, multidisciplinary collaboration, and a genetics-trained advanced practice provider workforce, patients can access specialized genetic evaluation, testing, counseling, and follow-up care without the burden of extensive travel.
The organization has also invested in workforce development through its 13-week Cancer Genomics Course. By preparing advanced practice providers and other healthcare professionals to deliver genetic-informed care, Logan Health is helping build the workforce needed to meet growing demand for genomic medicine in rural communities.
Genetics specialists also help patients navigate testing options, insurance coverage, laboratory selection, and available financial assistance programs. This individualized approach helps ensure patients receive appropriate, high-quality testing while minimizing barriers to care.
National Advances in Genomics
Across the country, genetics and genomics are transforming healthcare. Advances in sequencing technology have dramatically reduced the time required to analyze DNA and expanded access to genetic testing, allowing genomic information to be incorporated into medical care more frequently than ever before.
In cancer care, genomic testing is increasingly used to identify genetic changes that may guide treatment selection, prognosis, and screening recommendations. Emerging technologies, including liquid biopsies that detect tumor DNA in a blood sample, are creating new opportunities to monitor certain cancers and assess treatment response with less invasive testing.
As genomic medicine continues to evolve, Logan Health remains committed to bringing these advances to patients in our region. Through participation in research studies, clinical trials, and national collaborations, the organization is helping advance new approaches to cancer risk assessment, early detection, treatment selection, and survivorship care. Logan Health also participates in initiatives focused on population-based genetic screening, working with leading academic partners to better understand how genetic testing can identify individuals at increased risk for hereditary cancer and other inherited conditions before disease develops.
Beyond oncology, genomics is influencing many areas of medicine, including cardiology, neurology, pediatrics, and pharmacology. Billings Clinic Logan Health has expanded access to rapid and ultra-rapid whole genome sequencing for critically ill infants and children in the NICU and PICU, allowing care teams to obtain diagnostic information in days rather than months and helping guide timely treatment decisions for some of the region’s most vulnerable patients and their families.
Looking Ahead
The future of healthcare is increasingly personalized, and genetics and genomics are playing a central role in that transformation. As scientific discoveries continue to expand our understanding of disease, patients can expect more precise risk assessment, earlier diagnosis, targeted therapies, and preventive strategies tailored to their individual needs.
Through continued investment in clinical care, education, research, and innovation, Logan Health is helping ensure that patients and families throughout the region can benefit from advances in genomic medicine for generations to come.
For patients and families, genetics and genomics offer more than information, they offer the opportunity to better understand health, make informed decisions, find answers, and take proactive steps toward a healthier future.
Q&A with Carrie Thompson
Q: Where are you from?
I grew up in Middleport, a small farming community near the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario, Canada. Living in a close-knit rural community taught me the value of relationships, resilience, and helping neighbors support one another.
Q: What is your background?
My professional background includes oncology, gastroenterology, adult and pediatric care, and genetics. Over the course of my career, I have been fortunate to care for patients at every stage of life, from newborns to older adults. Genetics became a natural fit because it combines many of the things I am most passionate about: prevention, education, lifelong learning, and helping families understand their health.
Q: What inspired you to become involved with genetics and genomics?
My interest in genetics grew naturally from my background in oncology and my own family history of cancer. Early in my career, while living in Jackson, Wyoming, I cared for a young girl named Regan who was diagnosed with Wilms tumor, a childhood cancer that can sometimes have a genetic basis. At the time, I was beginning to learn more about the role genetics can play in cancer risk and diagnosis, and that experience had a lasting impact on me.
After Regan passed away, her family gave me a painting that still hangs in my exam room today, 25 years from when I was gifted it. It serves as a daily reminder that behind every diagnosis is a person, a family, and a story. That experience inspired me to continue my education and eventually pursue advanced training in genetics and genomics. What continues to inspire me today is the opportunity to help patients and families find answers, better understand their health, and sometimes change the course of their future.
Q: What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is helping patients and families find answers. Genetics often provides clarity during some of the most uncertain moments in a person’s life.
I also enjoy building programs that improve access to care in rural communities. One project that is especially meaningful to me is Project Zebra, an initiative funded by the Logan Health Foundation to provide stuffed zebras to children seen in our genetics clinic. In medicine, zebras are often used to represent rare conditions, and many of the children we care for have diagnoses that are uncommon. The zebras are a small way to provide comfort, compassion, and a sense of belonging while helping children understand that being rare also makes them special.
Q: How can patients come to see you?
Patients can be referred to the Genetics and Genomics Program by any healthcare provider, including primary care providers and specialists. Individuals and families may also self-refer if they have questions about their personal or family health history. Appointments can be scheduled by contacting 406-607-8003.
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family, friends, and my three blue-heelers exploring Montana, and escaping to our cabin near the Bob Marshall Wilderness. I love hiking, gardening, painting, reading, and tackling home renovation projects.