NAMPA, Idaho — Salt Lake-based Intermountain Health is going to either sell or close Saltzer Health
- If Saltzer Health is not sold by March 29, it will be closed
- 400+ employees affected
- 30,000+ patients affected
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
“I got a phone call this morning because I had an appointment this afternoon and they told me that it had to be canceled, to be rescheduled, due to a staff meeting,” said Saltzer Health patient DeVon Orr.
This was the case for most if not all, Saltzer Health patients, and some didn’t get the message. Physicians began their morning with a meeting on the future of their clinic.
“…and then we're rolled out through the day to groups of leaders and then the announcements were this afternoon to all of the clinicians and caregivers at Saltzer,” continued OB/GYN Megan Kasper.
That announcement, from owners of Salt Lake-based Intermountain Health, was to be sold or closed within 90 days. Intermountain Health cites “unforeseen changes in [the] geographic area and inflation have created conditions that have made running [their] healthcare operations unsustainable.”
The possible closure of all Treasure Valley Saltzer locations will leave over 30,000 patients unable to see their preferred providers. It can take up to 6 months for a physician to be hired at a new clinic.
“The way that insurance credentialing and contracting works, it’s very challenging to roll over to be able to see new patients under a new tax ID in anything less than four to six months,” explained Dr. Kasper.
This timeline will make it difficult for existing patients to have continuing coverage with their physician. Some, like DeVon, have entire teams at Saltzer.
“For myself, it’s my health team. My cardiologist is here, my gastrologist is here, and my PCP. So that’s my whole team. My team has been working together because I’ve gone through some major medical issues and so I have to start over if I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she said.
A closure of Saltzer would create a ripple effect on already-weakened healthcare options for women in Idaho.
“In Idaho, we’re already having workforce challenges. The population here has grown significantly, but the physician and advanced practice provider workforce has not increased in proportion to our population increase. And then we’ve had recent laws go into effect in Idaho related to our ability to treat women with early pregnancy complications and that has been a significant deterrent for OB/GYNs coming to this state to practice,” concluded Dr. Kasper.
