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CASPER, Wyo. — On Friday, the Natrona Collective Health Trust denied a $29.2 million loan request from Memorial Hospital of Converse County that would have been used to purchase the Summit Medical Center facility in Casper.

In a statement, the NCHT writes that the request was declined due to the agreement that binds the trust with Banner Wyoming Medical Center. Per the agreement, the trust is unable to provide monetary support to a healthcare provider that competes in the same geographic market as Banner.

Beyond the legal constraints, the statement says, the trust also evaluated the broader healthcare system implications of granting the loan request. Rural healthcare markets such as Natrona County operate with limited patient volume, constrained workforce capacity and financial structures that rely on stability across the system.

“These services draw patients and providers from across the state, support high-quality medical jobs, and anchor our local healthcare economy,” Trust chairman Eric Nelson said. “When patient volume, reimbursement or workforce stability is eroded in ways that weaken these core services, the consequences are not just institutional, they are medical and economic for Natrona County as a whole.”

This is not the first time the Memorial Hospital of Converse County has approached a local entity with the loan request. In August 2025, the hospital — which already owned Summit Medical Center’s practice but not the physical building — made the same pitch to the Natrona County commissioners.

At the time, Summit Medical Center and MHCC CEO Matt Dammeyer argued that the purchase would expand local healthcare services and save millions over the next two decades. He said that, unlike corporate hospitals driven primarily by economic models, MHCC’s ownership by the people provides flexibility to offer services that may not be highly profitable but are essential, such as primary care and services for the Medicare population. He also spoke about the hospital’s aggressive recruitment of physicians to elevate healthcare standards, saying they are preparing to introduce a specialty in Wyoming that currently doesn’t exist.

The commissioners ultimately denied the request in October, citing Banner’s presence in Casper and a desire to save taxpayer dollars.

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