A spokeswoman for the Eastern Shoshone Tribe declined to comment further Wednesday. A spokesman for the Northern Arapaho Tribe said he would attempt to get comment from leadership but did not provide any statement to the Star-Tribune by press time.

Watkins said the community was “dismayed” by the decision, as it was when SageWest closed other units.

“But you know they are a private corporation, they make those decisions based on their business plan,” she said, referring to SageWest’s parent company, LifePoint. “While that is emotionally daunting, you know, they are a for-profit corporation that is there to return to their investors an income on their investment.”

Her group, which includes a number of prominent Riverton residents, has been expressing concern about what its perceives as SageWest and LifePoint siphoning resources from Riverton in favor of Lander. The group has accused LifePoint of turning the Riverton hospital into a “Band-Aid station” and say it is critically understaffed, reducing services available. The hospital had previously closed its OBGYN services.