Meet Our Team
Eric Tamesis, MD
Rheumatology
Rheumatology
Joining Benefis Health System means becoming part of a physician community that has chosen to build careers in Montana. The organization employs 440 providers, a number that has grown from just 104 over the past decade. This growth reflects both the health system's financial stability and its success in recruiting physicians who want to practice in a setting where they can know their patients, their colleagues, and their community.
What stands out about the Benefis medical staff is retention. The physician turnover rate sits at just 5.4%, remarkably low for any healthcare organization and especially notable for a regional system in a rural state. Physicians who come to Benefis tend to stay, building long-term practices and deep roots in the community. When you join, you are not stepping into a revolving door of locums coverage and temporary colleagues. You are joining a stable medical community.
Your rheumatology practice is integrated within the Internal Medicine department, where you will work alongside a collegial group of physicians who share patients, consult on complex cases, and support one another professionally. The floor includes 14 physicians spanning Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Sleep Medicine, creating a natural environment for collaboration on patients with multi-system disease.
The Internal Medicine group is long-standing, with a mix of experienced physicians and newer colleagues. They work closely together and have established efficient workflows for shared patients. As the rheumatologist on the floor, you will find ready referral sources and physicians who appreciate the value you bring to their patients with joint pain, autoimmune symptoms, and inflammatory conditions.
Your clinic is supported by a dedicated RN who manages patient flow, assists with medication management, and coordinates care across the health system. The infusion suite operates with its own nursing team, certified medical assistants, and pharmacy technicians who specialize in biologic therapies and infusion protocols. Providers consistently report high satisfaction with the support structure, and staffing ratios are designed to let you focus on clinical decision-making rather than administrative tasks.
If you desire an Advanced Practice Provider to extend your practice capacity, Benefis will recruit and hire an APP to work alongside you. You would have the opportunity to mentor this provider, training them in rheumatology according to your clinical approach. Whether you want an APP to manage stable follow-up patients, see urgent add-ons, or provide coverage during your time away, the organization is prepared to support that model.
The Helena multi-specialty building, which opened in May 2024, houses a growing team of specialists who provide comprehensive care to the capital city region. Your specialist colleagues at this location include:
This concentration of specialists creates opportunities for coordinated care, informal curbside consultations, and professional relationships that develop naturally when you share a building. The facility also includes a functional ambulatory surgery center and procedure rooms, meaning your colleagues perform procedures onsite rather than sending patients elsewhere.
While your primary practice base is in Helena, you are not isolated from the resources of the main Benefis campus in Great Falls. The tertiary center, located just over an hour away, provides outreach space for Great Falls physicians to offer care, mentorship, and support to Helena providers. This connection gives you access to subspecialty backup and collegial relationships across the system.
The Great Falls campus houses robust specialty support including neurosurgery, neurology, orthopedics, endocrinology, rheumatology, advanced gastroenterology, pulmonology, cardiothoracic surgery, and more. For complex patients requiring services beyond your scope, referral pathways are established and straightforward.
Benefis provides dedicated leadership to support you as you build and develop your practice in Helena. The organization understands that establishing a new specialty presence requires more than just clinic space and patients. You will have administrative support for practice development, access to monthly meetings with physician and administrative leadership to bring ideas forward and solve issues, and the backing of a health system that has consistently invested in growth and expansion.
The physician leadership structure at Benefis values input from practicing physicians. The same CEO has led the organization for over 20 years, providing stability and consistent vision. Every specialty is now employed by the health system, with no remaining private groups, meaning your colleagues share the same employment model and organizational alignment.
The culture at Benefis reflects the values of physicians who chose Montana intentionally. Colleagues respect work-life balance, support one another during challenging cases, and maintain professional relationships that extend beyond the clinic walls. The low turnover rate is not accidental; it reflects an organization that treats its physicians well and a medical community that values stability over constant churn.
You will join a practice where physicians know each other by name, where consultations happen through direct conversation rather than anonymous electronic referrals, and where your contributions to patient care are visible and valued.