Livingston HealthCare’s Board of Directors

Lee Kinsey, Board Chair

Steve Caldwell, Vice Chair & Treasurer

Abbie Bandstra

Abbie Bandstra was born and raised in Livingston and chose to return to this community after pursuing post-secondary education at Montana State University. In her professional career, Abbie has focused on the social services sector, working with underserved communities in Montana to address domestic and sexual violence, sex trafficking, sexual and reproductive health, and trauma informed education. Abbie has recently returned to classroom teaching as a 7th grade English teacher at Sleeping Giant Middle School. Alongside passions of youth advocacy, reproductive health and podcasts, you can also find her enjoying the outdoors with her dogs, coaching soccer, and generally making as many puns as possible.

JJ Carmody

JJ Carmody, CPA, is the Director of Health Policy and Government Relations at Billings Clinic in Billings, MT. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Montana State University in 1995. JJ joined Billings Clinic in 1998 as a Reimbursement Analyst after working for the Medicare Fiscal Intermediary as a Cost Report auditor. Since then, she has worked in various capacities within the Finance Division including Payer Relations, Chargemaster and most recently assumed a key role in Health Policy. Her position in Health Policy has been part of the dyad model at Billings Clinic where she has been paired with a physician counterpart, allowing them both to work with state and federal legislators and administrative staff as advocates for Billings Clinic, its employees and most importantly its patients.

Bruce Whitfield

Bruce Whitfield joined Livingston HealthCare as Chief Executive Officer in February 2023. Bruce has over 30 years of healthcare experience and has worked for several health systems within Montana. For the past 10 years, Bruce worked for Logan Health as Chief Executive Officer at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center in Libby, MT and also as President of the Outreach Network based out of Kalispell, MT. His other experience includes positions at Providence Health and Services and Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System. Bruce has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Montana, is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a Certified Public Accountant. In his spare time, Bruce enjoys all of the many outdoor activities that Montana offers, especially hunting, fishing and boating

Stefanie Lange, MD

Stefanie Lange has lived and worked as a family medicine physician in Livingston since 2008, when she accepted a position with Community Health Partners. CHP is a Federally Qualified Health Center tasked with providing medical care to all, regardless of insurance or ability to pay, serving the communities of Livingston, Bozeman, Belgrade and West Yellowstone. Dr. Lange has also worked in Livingston HealthCare's Emergency Department, on the medical floor, and as a support to newborn infants in the Family Birth Center. Dr. Lange is currently Community Health Partner's Medical Director and serves on the local Board of Health as Board Chair. She is a Minnesota transplant, but has called Montana home since working a summer job here in the Paradise Valley in the 1990's. She returned to Montana after earning her combined MD/Master of Public Health degree at Tulane University in New Orleans and completing her residency in St Paul, MN. When not at work, you'll often find her on the local trails with her human and canine family.

Justin Roberts is a board certified surgeon who comes to LHC from Texas Tech University, Lubbock. Roberts has previously worked as an Associate Professor of Surgery, supervising residents and teaching while also serving as a surgeon at a Level 1 trauma and regional burn center. Prior to teaching, Roberts ran a private practice and worked in general ER surgery and trauma coverage at Hendrick Medical Center, Abilene, Texas.

Roberts earned his Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and his doctoral degree from Texas Tech, Lubbock, while finishing his internship and residency in general surgery at University of Oklahoma, Tulsa. Roberts has received numerous awards in teaching and mentoring while working as a surgeon. He is an avid outdoorsman and a licensed pilot.

Mitch began his career with Billings Clinic in 1987. He has an associate degree in Diesel Mechanics from North Dakota State School of Science and a diploma in Facility Management Administrator (FMA) from Building Owner Management Institute (BOMI) and Evidence-based Design Accreditation & Certification (EDAC) from Center of Healthcare Design. Billings Clinic is a 360-bed licensed facility with a 450-physician group practice that includes a hospital, Surgery Center, Cancer Center, Orthopedics Sport Medicine, Research Center and regional clinics. Mitch is responsible for Construction Project Management, Energy Management, and Property Management to include Acquisitions Leases, Facility Planning, Plant Operations, Maintenance, Housekeeping, Food Services, Security, Clinical Engineering, Imaging Engineering and Grounds Maintenance. Mitch is a proponent of Evidence Based Design & Best Practice. Additional areas of expertise are Infection Control (related to construction projects) and the impact of material selections (based on sustainable, life cycle costs and energy efficiency) within healthcare environments. Mitch has an unyielding ability and interest in the area of value engineering cost control using proven techniques toward researching alternatives. This technique improves efficient design layout involving staff, architects, contractors and subcontractors for cost reduction input without impacting quality.

Henry Piñango, MD, is a board-certified specialist in Internal and Geriatric Medicine, and the Livingston HealthCare Hospice Medical Director. Henry attended high school in Indianapolis and later college at Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tenn., where he earned his degree in biochemistry. While working as a chemist in a battery factory, Henry realized he loved to explore how things work, but the lack of human interaction reminded him of life-affecting experience he had as a young adult. While still a teen working as an aid in a nursing home, Henry discovered he had a passion for caring for the aged. This discovery led him to enroll at Loma Linda University to study medicine and meet his future wife, Kyra. “Part of what I liked about the idea of moving to Livingston, was the opportunity I have to serve the older generations here,” Henry says. “I bring a perspective to geriatric care that includes the whole picture of health – physical, mental and emotional – that this population faces.”

Ruth Weissman, PhD, is Professor of Psychology Emerita, Wesleyan University. Her research expertise is in eating and weight disorders, and she is the Editor-in-Chief of the Internal Journal of Eating Disorders. Weissman earned her Diploma in Psychology from the University of Tübingen, Germany and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. Weissman completed her clinical internship at Bellevue Hospital/New York University in New York, NY. Her scholarly contributions have been recognized by numerous awards. She is a former board chair of the Livingston HealthCare Foundation and a recipient of the Foundation’s Deborah Erdman and Lee Freeman Leadership in Philanthropy Award. Weissman lives with her husband Walt Weissman in Park County where she enjoys hiking, cooking, and visits from her children.

Mike Atkinson is still working on transitioning from practicing law to farming on the CrazyA Ranch outside of Clyde Park, Montana. Following graduation from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, he served as an Assistant Public Defender and later as an Assistant District Attorney in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. In 1975, he received his Master of Laws in Antitrust from the University of Texas College of Law at Austin, after which time he returned to Tulsa, where he continues to practice as a trial lawyer representing clients in a variety of cases. Mr. Atkinson has served as State Chair for the American College of Trial lawyers and as President of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Board of Trial Lawyers and as State Chair for the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He was admitted to the State Bar of Montana in 2023. Mike and his wife, Melissa, have two children and two grandchildren. Their son Travis, and daughter in law Krystyn, live in Anchorage, Alaska, where they both are Prosecutors for the State of Alaska, and have a big dog. Their daughter, Kellen and her husband, Noah live in New York City, where they both teach in the public schools and parent the two grandsons. Since moving to Montana, Mike and Melissa have both been active in the non-profit community with Mike serving on the board of the Park County Community Foundation in the past and Melissa serving on the Livingston Hospital Foundation board and the Elk River Arts and Lecture Board.

Liz Lewis, Ex Officio

Liz Lewis holds licenses in Montana as a registered nurse and an attorney. She achieved her BSN at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and her MSN at Northwestern State University in Louisiana. During her tenure as a nurse, Liz worked in many areas of the country and held many positions as a nurse including positions at Livingston Hospital.

Liz attended Willamette University College of Law and has held licenses to practice law in Oregon and Montana. After law school, she returned to Montana and worked at Bozeman Health in various senior level management positions including Director of Human Resources, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Operating Officer. She retired from Bozeman Health as its Chief Operating Officer in March of 2019.

During her tenure at Bozeman Health, Liz served as a board member of the Big Sky Medical Center. She now serves on the Board of Friends of Hospice and is the Board Chair of Community Health Partners.

Liz maintains continuing education in healthcare law and is excited to contribute to the Livingston Community as a board member of Livingston HealthCare.

She and her husband Harvey have lived in Livingston since 1993.