Dr. Steward begins practice in hometown

Clark Fork Valley Hospital's newest physician Barbara Steward has returned home to care for the community where she grew up.

Steward is a graduate of Plains High School's class of 2006. She attended the University of Montana for her undergraduate studies and continued her education as a medical student at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, Washington. For her medical residency she worked in Missoula and Kalispell.

Raised by her father Jesse Steward, and two brothers, Steward first aspired to be a teacher.

"I started to look back on my life and life’s circumstances and how my life was going and realized that God had set me up perfectly to go into medicine," she said. "You see people in their most intimate moments, and they want someone they can trust and care about them. So here I am.”

Steward said the hardest part about medical school was being away from family and missing important moments. She was fortunate to be able to attend schools and residency programs close to home.

“I also want to emphasize my appreciation for my husband and dad," she said. "It wasn't just me who went through my schooling and training, as well as made countless sacrifices. They say your loved ones also go through medical school and residency, which is true for these two. They have stood unwaveringly by me throughout this entire process, and I couldn't have done it without them by my side.”

Steward is a family practitioner treating all ages, and is known to her young patients as Barbie. She is also a doctor of osteopathic medicine.

Her plans are to build her life in Plains with her husband Ben Bache, a foreman for the Sanders County Road Department. She plans to be active in the community and said she was very happy to be back in the area and thankful that everyone has been so inviting.

She continued saying, “It’s been an interesting totality of coming back to your home town and practicing. There are a lot of people that I don’t know that are establishing care with me and there are a lot of people who I do know, and I have already formed a relationship with. They could be my teachers and friends. They know me as one person and here I am taking care of them. I am still the same person I always was with the same values.”

Steward commented that she is more capable of giving back to the community and said some people may still think of her as little Barbie.

"That’s my nickname in town. I am really Dr. Steward now and taking care of you."

To schedule an appointment with Steward, call Plains Family Medicine at 406-826-4810. Steward will be available Monday through Wednesday and Friday.