JACKSON, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) has dispersed $205 million to health care providers across the state as part of the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), and St. John’s Health (SJH) received a chunk through the “Critical Access Hospitals” funding initiative.
SJH and Teton County Health Department (TCHD) both applied for grant money. Distribution was competitive and based on four specific initiatives outlined by WDH. Applicants were encouraged to apply with a funding request for a certain project goal that fit into one of the four categories. Of the $205 million awarded, the largest chunk of nearly $110 million was earmarked for applications related to emergency medical care access. Within that initiative, $48 million was dedicated to critical access hospitals. All awards must be expended by September 2027.
Under the “Critical Access Hospitals” initiative, SJH was granted $1.25 million. SJH Chief Financial Officer Mitch Watson told Buckrail that money from the grant will go toward operations and personnel to bolster existing programs like emergency room care and labor and delivery services. Watson said rural health care is struggling across the board, with an estimated 700 rural hospitals at risk of closing nationwide, according to a July analysis. Here in Jackson, SJH operates with negative margins, so the RHTP money will be funneled into critical services, though it won’t put the hospital in the black.
“We’re very grateful that the administration is trying to put dollars into rural health care because they know it’s definitely an impacted area,” Watson said.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which administered the RHTP funding to states last year, defines the criteria for critical access hospitals. SJH is not technically a critical access hospital, according to Watson. However, the hospital functions similarly by providing 24-hour maternity care and trauma-level emergency room service.
“Our main focus is to provide a high quality of care and a great patient experience for every single patient that comes through,” Watson said. “And we know we have a unique community, we have different things that we have to serve in our community, like we’re a community that has a lot of climbers and we have a certain demographic. … So we want to be able to serve them well. But ultimately, we’re going to continue to make sure that each patient that comes through our doors gets a high quality, great patient experience, no matter what they come in with.”
TCHD Director of Health Travis Riddell told Buckrail that the organization did not receive any RHTP award. Riddell also served on the state’s RHTP advisory committee, which reviewed and scored applications before awarding funding.
“We applied for funding under the RHTP’s ‘Integrated Primary Care Expansion’ initiative to fund a feasibility study assessing the viability of a community health center in Teton County,” Riddell wrote in an email. “Our proposal was not funded because this year, the grant process prioritized existing community and Tribal health centers (which we are not). The grant process is set to open more broadly next year.”
A third health care provider in the region was awarded money through the “Clinically-Integrated Care Coordination” initiative. Community Strong, a remote patient monitoring service out of Kemmerer, applied for funds to strengthen care for dual Medicare/Medicaid recipients. CEO Anna Chytka told Buckrail that the company does not yet operate in Teton County, but looks forward to expanding in this direction once contracts and awards are finalized.
