CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Jen True, a member of the Natrona County Health Collective Board of Directors, announced her resignation from the board, effective immediately.
The announcement came during Tuesday’s Natrona County Board of County Commissioners meeting, in which Commissioner Nicolaysen began a discussion related to Banner Wyoming Medical Center specifically, and healthcare in Natrona County in general.
Nicolaysen said that the commissioners just wanted to “touch base on an issue that continues to be at least front and center in my mind, which is trying to improve healthcare in Natrona County.”
True believes there is much room for improvement, and she made her thoughts known to the commissioners, and to the community as a whole at Tuesday’s meeting.
True made a number of allegations related to the organization, which was previously known as the Wyoming Medical Foundation. Following Wyoming Medical Center’s acquisition by Banner Health, the organization became a private health foundation and assumed a new name: Natrona Collective Health Trust.
Per its website, the Natrona Collective Health Trust is an organization that was created “to support the needs of the hospital. In addition to continued support for Wyoming Medical Center, the Trust is committed to providing unwavering support to the community and Natrona County nonprofits through trust-based philanthropy, reliable resources, and actionable change. By using an inclusive, community-based approach to our services, resources, and allocations, we aim to address health challenges at their roots.”
True has served as an appointee to the Natrona Collective Health Trust Board since March of 2024 but, as of March 4, 2025, she is no longer a board member.
“I have been honored to serve as your appointee on the board of the Natrona Collective Health Trust,” True began. “But after much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to resign from this position, effective immediately.”
True shared that in 2020, following the sale of Wyoming Medical Center to Banner Health, the NCHT entered into an agreement with Natrona County.
“The stated purpose of this agreement was to, and I quote, ‘support the delivery and accessibility of high quality, efficient healthcare services throughout Natrona County and the overall physical and mental health and well being of residents in Natrona County,’ True said. “However, based on my observations, both as a citizen and a board member, the Trust has failed to meet these objectives.”
True said that the organization has “strayed” from its founding mission.
“Rather than prioritizing community impact collaboration and responsible stewardship, the trust has developed a culture of spending, marked by extravagant expenditures, self-promotion, and a troubling lack of fiscal accountability,” she said. “Since my appointment in March 2024, I have witnessed decisions that prioritize institutional self-interest over community wellbeing.”
Ture said that the NCHT allocated over $6 million in trust funds in order to purchase and renovate a building that, in her words, was already functional. She also stated that the Trust increased staff salaries by over 14%, and reduced ‘Community Giving’ by 4%.
“Increasing salaries and decreasing giving is a historical pattern of the Trust, and reflects a disturbing shift away from its core responsibility of serving Natrona County residents,” True said. “Beyond the excess of internal spending, the Trust is diverting funds outside of Natrona County to statewide initiatives under the justification that this policy work will eventually benefit our community.”
However, True stated, the financial agreement with the Trust explicitly states that trust funds are “for the sole and exclusive purpose of providing, supporting, or enhancing the delivery of healthcare services in the primary service area.”
True stated that this is a very clear directive, but that the Trust continues to justify the expenditures. She believes that those optics suggest self-promotion, rather than local impact, as being the primary motivation.
True also alleged that the Colletice Health Trust has refused to provide funding for other local, nonprofit organizations’ capital campaigns which, she said, results in a double standard regarding its own spending versus community needs.
“Moreover, granting decisions are not being made primarily on the quality of services provided, but rather on a self-defined policy that prioritizes political ideologies,” True said. “This was most clearly exemplified by the Trust’s refusal to fund the Wyoming Rescue Mission, due to its faith-based staffing policies. Instead of assessing organizations on their ability to effectively serve the community, the trust has used its position of power to impose ideological conformity.”
On the Collective Health Trust’s website, it is written that the Trust does not fund “Religious institutions without programs and services that serve the community beyond their members,” nor does it fund “Organizations or projects that discriminate with regard to employees, volunteers, delivery of programs or services, or clients served based on race, creed, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or other factors that deny the essential humanity of all Natrona County residents.”
True continued, stating that she believes the Trust uses its funding as “a tool to intimidate and mandate compliance from other nonprofits, forcing them to align with its own ideological agenda.”
She called this “a blatant overreach of authority and abuse of philanthropic influence.”
True referenced inflated salaries, consultants, excessive spending on conference travel, “elaborate meeting spreads and non-essential perks.”
True called herself a private philanthropist and a public accountant. With those credentials in mind, True said that she finds it “deeply troubling that private foundations funded with private dollars are held to a higher standard of efficiency effectiveness than this public trust which manages community funds.”
The Natrona Collective Health Trust funds, per its website:
- 501c3 public charities or organizations with a 501c3 public charity as a fiscal agent/sponsor
- Organizations providing services in and can demonstrate a benefit to Natrona County
- Organizations with a statement of inclusivity providing access to all programs and services regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other factors that deny the essential humanity of Natrona County residents.
Despite its perceived transparency about what it does and does not fund, True said that “the governance of the Trust is deeply compromised.”
True stated that the Trust’s board was “largely developed by the Executive Director, Beth Worthen and, as a result, many members appear unwilling to question her actions.”
True also brought u the fact that the Trust offers compensation to the Chairman of the Board which, in her mind, “poses a potential conflict of interest undermining the independence necessary for proper oversight.”
Commissioner Dallas Laird later spoke up and agreed that he doesn’t like the idea of board members being compensated, either.
True also referenced a situation in which staff salary increases, which were based on a consultant’s recommendation, was presented by Thoren and the staff in front of the board.
“At no point was an independent executive session held to discuss these raises, which is a standard practice in both corporate and nonprofit governance,” True said. “In all of my years serving on boards, I have never seen an organization bypass such fundamental governance principles.”
The Natrona Collective Health Trust has an entire section of its website dedicated to transparency, including written policies on conflicts of interest, investment policies, grantmaking frameworks, and more.
Still, True said, the Trust has been anything but transparent.
“This trust has morphed into a self-declared, autonomous entity, disregarding the origin of its funding and its duty to the citizens in Natrona County,” True said. “Instead of acting as responsible stewards of this public resource, the trust is operate in a vacuum, free from meaningful oversight or accountability.”
True also stated that the Trust declined to report to the Natrona County Commissioners, “the very body to which it should remain accountable.”
“Furthermore,” True said, “and perhaps most important, since its inception, the Trust abdicated its responsibility to ensure quality health outcomes for Wyoming Medical Center and its patients. Only after being challenged in 2024 by the county commissioners, did the Trust reluctantly acknowledge its responsibility. Rather than taking meaningful action, however, its solution was simply to get another consultant.”
True said that because the Trust’s internal staff is extensive, its heavy reliance on outside consultants “raises serious concerns about efficiency, necessity, and accountability.”
She stated that the residents of Natrona County should question the means, methods, oversight and accountability of the Natrona Collective Health Trust, and that she has lost faith in the leadership, in terms of board oversight and ability to challenge the organization’s direction.
“For these reasons, I can no longer, in good conscience, serve on their board,” True said. “I urge you, the Natrona County Commissioners, and this community, to demand an independent audit of the trust spending practices, consultant contracts, staffing levels, and overall efficiency.”
Following her statements, the Board of County Commissioners thanked True for her service and for the comments that she made.
The Natrona Collective Health Trust has recently retained the healthcare and compliance and consulting firm, PYA, to provide independent monitoring services.
“PYA has extensive expertise in the complexities associated with monitoring compliance within healthcare systems,” trust board chair Eric Nelson said. “We are confident that our community will be well served by their diligent analysis and solutions-oriented approach.”
Oil City News has reached out to the Natrona Collective Health Trust for comment, and will provide more information if/when it becomes available.
Related