The Teton County Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinic was started in 2014 by St. John’s Health and the Teton County Health Department. Despite St. John’s recently withdrawing from the partnership, the health department has worked with its remaining providers to keep the clinic going.
It provides services like birth control consultations, preventative care and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing – all regardless of insurance status.
During the partnership, the health department covered overhead and nursing staff, while St. John’s paid for one nurse practitioner (NP) already employed by the hospital to work at the clinic for 16 hours split between two days a week. The rest of the clinic’s 24 available hours a week were covered by three NPs paid by the health department.
But, shortly after the hospital’s clinician moved in August, St. John’s informed the health department it would not be rehiring someone for her position.
“At that time, because she was no longer going to be our employee, the contract with her at public health also ended,” said Karen Connelly, the Chief Communications Officer for St. John’s.
St. John’s Health also closed a clinic in Lander in July and ceased operations for seasonal clinics in Teton Village and Grand Teton National Park. In the June announcement, the hospital pointed to "persistent financial pressures facing rural healthcare systems”.
Health Department Director Travis Riddell said the sexual and reproductive health clinic is now offering 20 hours a week. The three other NPs at the clinic have been able to cover these hours.
“These are all really dedicated folks who feel like this is a really important service to the community,” said Riddell. “They have been able to prioritize that, fortunately.”
Riddell said the clinic team is closely monitoring any potential impacts to patients from the slightly reduced hours, but so far, there haven’t been any serious issues.
Work at the clinic is largely funded through the nonprofit Teton County Foundation for Public Health. The contracts for the clinic’s independent NPs are paid through this foundation. Riddell said keeping the clinic running has become the foundation’s number one goal.
“We live in a really philanthropic community where people do rise to the occasion and put their money where their mouth is in terms of these sorts of activities that we as a community think are a priority,” said Riddell.
Riddell acknowledged that fundraising every year can be a heavy lift, but said the staffing at the clinic for now feels solid.
“I think it’s important that people understand these services are still out there, they’re still available, people should continue to reach out to the health department to make appointments for the clinic,” Riddell added.
Riddell and Connelly both emphasized that St. John’s Health and the health department continue to have a strong working relationship around public health in Teton County. All three NPs in the clinic are renewing their contracts for 2026.
