New nurse practitioner joins Moorcroft clinic

Laura Richins has joined the team of dedicated medical professionals at the Moorcroft Clinic.

This 41-year-old mother of four hails from Torrington, where she was as a registered nurse (RN) for eight years as she worked for her doctorate of nursing practice. Richins' husband transferred to work in Gillette and the family came north with him, settling in Moorcroft.

Richins is passionate about her work, explaining that, as a nurse practitioner, she has learned to approach patient care more holistically than physicians. "We're still nurses at the heart of it," she says.

Like a doctor, she explains, the practitioner will say, "This is what's wrong and this is what we can do to fix it, but then, we go a step further and ask, 'can you afford the medication and what else can we do besides that? But, at the end of the day, we both figure out what's wrong and get you where you need to be to get better."

Richens follows her mother in the career of nursing, saying, "I just naturally grew up in that environment."

The tradition is continuing as one of her daughters is currently a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and has plans to continue her medical schooling next fall.

The family is still in transition, Richins states, but she anticipates her two daughters who are still at home will be coming north and starting school in December.

Born in Laramie, Richins has travelled and lived throughout the state and is looking forward to setting down roots in Moorcroft.

"It's super cute and it has that small town feeling and I really like that. My husband's a big fan, he's been a Wyoming boy his whole life, too, [and] my girls are the same way. We like the idea of Moorcroft being close enough to drive to things that are big, but not having to live in that chaos," she smiles.

"I'm really excited to be part of the Moorcroft community."