In Jackson, a ski town struggles for balance

TUCKED IN THE SHADOW OF THE TETONS, THE TOWN OF Jackson, Wyo., and surrounding Teton County is home to fewer than 25,000 full-time residents, but annually hosts more than 2.5 million visitors. The valley’s natural beauty attracts an influx of tourists, who in turn are responsible for roughly 30% of the region’s jobs and more than $1 billion in annual revenue. For the past year, visitors came with an unwelcome price tag for locals: “Every time in this pandemic that we’ve had an influx of visitation… it follows with an uptick in [COVID-19] cases and hospitalizations,” says Dr. Jeff Greenbaum, medical director at the emergency department for St. John’s hospital and the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) ski patrol.

With just one major hospital and eight emergency-room physicians serving Teton County, any increase in COVID-19 cases is cause for concern. And in January, following the Christmas and New Year’s