Northern Nye trustees extend Frontier Medical Group contract 60 days as community pushes to keep clinic open

The Northern Nye County Hospital District Board of Trustees voted 4-0 on March 27 to approve a 60-day emergency extension of its contract with Frontier Medical Group, the company that operates the urgent-care clinic in Tonopah.

The extension, approved as an emergency measure, incorporates the current signed contract’s terms and runs through May 30, 2025. The board directed its attorney to work with Frontier to draft a more detailed, longer-term agreement and asked staff and the provider to prepare a prioritized “wish list” of services and staffing the community needs.

Trustees and public commenters repeatedly framed the vote as aimed at avoiding a gap in local primary and urgent-care access while the district and provider sort out funding, billing and staffing. Dr. Govan Coker, who oversees Frontier’s operations in Tonopah, told the board he needs an assurance of 12 months of funding before he can reliably recruit and hire full-time providers: “So I need, a 1 year worth of money, not all at once. It can come every month.” He said a year of funding would let him offer stable positions instead of relying on higher-cost locum or travel providers.

Public commenters urged the board to keep Frontier in place. Multiple speakers, including…