When I saw the name of the person who just got promoted to Chief Executive of the “Providence Montana Service Area” my first thought was is this person related to Missoula’s Sheriff, Jeremiah Petersen?
Krissy Petersen, a registered nurse who has worked at St. Patrick Hospital for 14 years, has been named chief executive for the Providence Montana Service Area. Providence, a Washington-based nonprofit healthcare system, operates across five western states. In Montana, they own St. Pat’s, Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson, more than 40 clinics statewide and 3,000 employees.
Peterson currently serves as Montana Chief Nursing Officer.
Since the Missoulian article about Krissy Petersen was written by David Erickson, I didn’t expect to find the specific information I was looking for that would provide the context I think this town needs…and I was right!
“Born and raised in Deer Lodge, she brings deep knowledge of Western Montana healthcare, having been in medicine since 2002 and has strong strategic judgment and proven operational effectiveness to this new leadership role,” Providence said in a press release.
Petersen is not available for interviews until after Labor Day, Providence said.
“She has worked at Providence St. Patrick Hospital since 2012, and throughout her tenure, Krissy has demonstrated thoughtful, effective leadership in key roles in many different clinical areas, and administrative positions including interim Chief Administrative Officer for Providence St. Joseph Medical Center and Executive Director for Cardiac and Surgical Services,” the press release said. “As a nurse by training, she brings clinical perspective, operational insight, and a values-driven approach to her work. She has a commitment to the advancement and education of our caregivers, with high professional standards for clinical excellence and patient care.”
Petersen replaces Bill Calhoun, who stepped down this spring. His resignation was not announced publicly by Providence.
While Providence didn’t publicly announce Calhoun’s departure, another media outlet DID report on Calhoun’s resignation this spring with a little context that might be helpful for Missoula readers about the Missoula hospital that allowed the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office to euthanize Sean Stevenson:
Providence Montana Chief Executive Bill Calhoun will leave his role next month, following a turbulent year that saw major job cuts and the closure of Providence St. Patrick Hospital’s maternity center.
An internal letter dated March 10 and shared with NBC Montana says Calhoun will conclude his tenure with Providence on April 10, 2026, to pursue a new professional path in executive coaching. A source who requested anonymity provided the memo, and multiple employees independently shared matching versions of the email, confirming it was sent to staff this week. An official with Providence also confirmed Calhoun has announced his resignation.
…
In 2025, Providence announced plans to eliminate about 600 full-time positions across seven states, including roles in Montana. A memo from Providence’s chief operating officer said most cuts would affect administrative positions but acknowledged some patient-care jobs would also be lost, including positions at the Providence Heart Institute Butte Clinic and the Family Maternity Center at Providence St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula. Calhoun said at the time that restructuring was still underway and warned there “may be more difficult news ahead.”
With all this context in mind, maybe picking a pretty blonde was a smart strategic move for Providence?
With Missoulian reporter, David Erickson, failing to indicate whether or not Krissy Petersen is related to Missoula’s Sheriff, I decided to crowd-source my inquiry on X and got an immediate response:
If this is true, then that makes the detail I’m about to share about a breakdown in communication between law enforcement and St. Pats hospital that much more intriguing to me.
The detail I found in a Missoulian article comes from a NON-lethal stabbing that was reported around the same time a LETHAL stabbing occurred in Missoula, so I’m not sure anyone really paid much attention to this incident, which happened back in May:
A Missoula man appeared in court Wednesday morning on charges of stabbing another man in the leg near the Poverello in May.
Jose Daniel Ramirez, 63, appeared before Judge Leslie Halligan in Missoula County District Court on charges of assault with a weapon and criminal possession of dangerous drugs, both felonies.
According to court documents, on May 9, Missoula police officers went to the area of the Poverello Center for a reported stabbing. On the scene, an officer found the victim sitting in a car with a stab wound on his upper right thigh. The victim was transported to St. Patrick Hospital.
When the alleged assailant of this stabbing was found by police he was ALSO taken to the hospital, where cops left him “in the custody” of medical staff.
Officers found Ramirez lying on the ground nearby unconscious, documents state. Another knife was found on Ramirez and seized for evidence. Ramirez regained consciousness and seemed intoxicated when answering questions, and claimed to not know anything about the incident, documents state.
Ramirez was also taken to St. Patrick Hospital, where an officer found three prescription Vyvanse pills in his pocket, documents state.
At the hospital, Ramirez was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit due to a brain bleed and left in the custody of medical staff.
And now here’s the problem: medical staff DISCHARGED THIS MAN and forgot to tell the cops about it (highlighted emphasis mine):
Since this alleged stabbing happened back in May, and Ramirez was only JUST arrested in July, here’s a natural question that comes to mind: WHEN WAS JOSE DANIEL RAMIREZ DICHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL?
This little detail that is NOT included in Andy Tallman’s reporting would be nice to know because it would help readers determine HOW LONG a potentially dangerous person was allowed to freely walk around Missoula after being discharged to the streets. Are we talking a few days, a few weeks, or a few months? I don’t know, and Providence’s new Chief Executive won’t be talking to the media until AFTER Labor Day.
How convenient.
Krissy Petersen being from Deer Lodge is another detail I find relevant, since Deer Lodge is where Montana’s prison is located. I’ve even heard stories from sources inside the system that a known method for avoiding scrutiny regarding inmate deaths at Deer Lodge is to make sure they technically expire in an ambulance, since third-party providers, like a private ambulance service, provides a nice additional layer of narrative control for authorities with something to hide.
Did I mention Jeremiah Petersen ran the jail before becoming Sheriff?
Narrative control is VERY important for authorities to maintain because, when they LOSE that control, like Missoula PD did recently after the video of Lucas Bighouse tasing a woman went viral, they are forced to take more active measures to hide the full extent of their complicity in perpetrating fear, violence, and hatred among the populace they are supposed to “serve and protect”, not stalk and assault.
For Providence, picking a woman that looks like a Barbie doll to be Chief Executive is a smart, proactive way of establishing a firm grip on future narrative control, since being critical of females in positions of power can be quickly dismissed as misogyny.
The victim role for women, even those in positions of power and influence over others, is such a powerful force for narrative controllers to make use of that a woman who murdered her own children is allowed to reference HER RIGHTS as the mother of those dead children to keep details of how she killed them shrouded from the public, and the Missoula County Attorney’s Office is helping her make this case:
EWU Media is a national true crime production company with more than 2.5 billion views since 2015, according to its website, and videos regularly secure 3 million to 5 million views on YouTube.
The company has also requested records for another Missoula County case involving a woman who pleaded guilty to murdering her two children in 2021. The woman, Leannah J. Gardipe, received a life sentence in the custody of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services in 2023.
Gardipe protested the release of the records, including body camera footage and interviews.
“I don’t agree to open my case,” Gardipe wrote from Warm Springs, a court filing in the case shows. “I believe it would violate my HIPAA rights. I think it is a violation of the rights of my children and their memories.”
Larson requested Missoula County and EWU Media submit arguments in the 2021 case by the end of July.
While my knee-jerk reaction is to criticize Missoula County for exerting narrative control in this case, EWU Media is NOT the type of media outlet worthy of uncritical support, since I believe EWU Media are narrative exploiters deploying a grift in a similar manner that the “Liberty” crowd appears to be doing, but that perspective will have to wait for tomorrow’s post, so stay tuned.
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Thanks for reading!
I think you’re too hard on David Erickson, who has exposed hinky shit by the City regarding housing projects. That he didn’t research who her hubby is, doesn’t make him a conspirator.
Your dogged pursuit of truth re Sean Stevenson’s death is highly commendable.
But I think you’re making a mistake by denouncing womens’ use of the “victimhood” card. You’re being strategically targeted via two women, for sure, but your generalized characterization of women sounds like misogyny.
Contending that Providence hired “pretty blonde” for this position because of her looks you find very attractive, rather than on her merits, is really going to paint you as a misogynist. It is unfortunately true that the boards of big organizations such as Sisters of Providence often do select applicants for posts with public visibility who have what you describe as pretty looks, from among numerous qualified applicants. But here, I think you’ve allowed your targeting by two women to distort your perceptions. I’m not refuting your theory, only suggesting that you’re very far from having any evidence to support it, and I’m skeptical that Ms. Petersen is a “public figure.”
Having been admitted for emergent card numerous times at SPH the past several years, I cannot believe that the medical staff are part of a conspiracy to euthanize patients or to deliberately release dangerous criminals onto the streets. The blame in that instance falls upon law enforcement. HIPPA is a real thing.
Seth Bodnar’s defense against renewed claims of terrible sexism is to deploy a genitalia shield by doing a genitalia count of how many administrative persons he appointed who lacked the offending penises to terrorize Barb Koostra and company with, so I think what I’m describing as an institutional strategy with hospital Barbie is, in fact, an accurate description of what boards and hiring teams still consider, and not the kind of irrational hate that would warrant accusing me of misogyny.
Anyways, get some rest after your ER visit last night, no need kicking off this rock quite yet old man 😉