Casper’s Healthcare ‘Nightmare’, County Commission Talks Moves

Tonight at the Natrona County Commissioner meeting, commissioners expressed their thoughts about Banner Health Wyoming Medical Center.

Commissioner Peter Nicolaysen called the healthcare in the area something "some would refer to as a nightmare."

Peter Nicolaysen said that he has met with the Natrona Collective Health Trust:

“It is an organization that has ballparked $300 million dollars from the – it’s basically the successor to the Wyoming Medical Center foundation. They renamed themselves, and I think they have the potential to do a heck of a lot of good…healthcare in our community continues to be somewhat of a nightmare.”

Talking about less than ideal outcomes from the hospital's performance, he added that he wants to continue to work on this issue.

“I personally feel that the collective has some authority and some contractual teeth to get Banner Wyoming Medical Center to act in certain ways including the $9 million plus donated under the contract required to be donated back to the collective to the hospital every year.

”And if there is a contractual way to say, ‘We’re concerned about this, we’re concerned about you not doing what you’re supposed to be doing’” said Nicolaysen “And we have the legal right to withhold some or all of those funds’it might improve the quality of healthcare in Natrona County really quickly.”

Nicolaysen says he will continue to apply pressure where and when he can.

Commissioner Dallas Laird added that there are rumors Banner Health would sell out, but a provision in their contract says they can’t sell out for 10 years.

“This may be a bold statement on my part, but from what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t mind negotiating with them and letting them out of that ten-year deal and let them sell it to another buyer that we might approve of.”