NAMPA, Idaho — Intermountain Health is attempting to sell Saltzer Health before March 29th. If no buyer is found, doors will be permanently closed.
- Saltzer Health sees 30,000+ people use them as their primary care physician
- 400+ employees
- Utah-based Intermountain Health owns Saltzer Health
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
By the end of March, Saltzer Health locations in the Treasure Valley will either be under new ownership or closed completely.
A closure would leave over 30,000 patients without their primary care physician and over 400 employees without a job.
Saltzer Health has been owned by Utah-based Intermountain Health since 2020 after being locally owned by Ball Ventures Ahlquist for about a year. Intermountain Health began in 1975 when the Church of Latter Day Saints donated its 15 hospitals to communities and the Intermountain Health nonprofit was created.
Last week Intermountain Health said in a statement that "...unforeseen changes in our geographic area and inflation have created conditions that have made running our healthcare operations unsustainable," along with inflation and vital contracts, other market relationships did not progress as had been hoped for.
I asked Intermountain Health for a chance to clarify what changes happened or what relationships failed. Intermountain Health declined and pointed me back to the original statement.
Physicians are frustrated with the abrupt announcement.
"We've all been blindsided by this and I think the biggest frustration is not knowing what our future holds. This thing of being in limbo where maybe there's a buyer, but we don't know, and maybe we're going to close. The other thing is just not knowing what to tell our patients," explained Associate Director of Family Health Dr. Elaine Davidson.
Another frustration of physicians is that over the weekend Intermountain Health removed all Intermountain logos and association with Idaho's Saltzer Health from the Saltzer websites and seemingly trying to distance themselves from this decision. All announcements and verbiage in official statements have said that Saltzer is closing or selling.
As I reported last week some patients have whole teams of doctors under the Saltzer Health umbrella for their health care.
Intermountain Health to sell or close Saltzer Health by March 29
"It's heartbreaking. I've been with Saltzer since 1995 so I've been with Saltzer for a long time and the culture and community that we built amongst providers and our clinic with our staff. We love working here, and we love the people that we work with. We love the patients we take care of and it's a huge loss to lose that," continued Dr. Davidson.
I contacted St. Luke's to see what accommodations would be made for patients and potentially absorbing any of the 400+ Saltzer Health employees for this story and have reached out to Saint Alphonsus and other area health care providers for future stories as I follow Saltzer's situation. St. Luke's declined to be interviewed for this one and sent a statement that read in part, "St. Luke's is committed to helping fill gaps in access to care that this closure may create for our communities. An option available to people who may experience a gap in care is accessing St. Luke's On-Demand Virtual Care service, which was established in 2021. Any patient who has a concern or experiences a gap in care can utilize this service."
Full St. Luke's Statement
We were sorry to hear the news of the potential closure of multiple Saltzer Health locations in Idaho. The Saltzer brand has been synonymous with high-quality, patient-centered care for decades, and we have admired the Saltzer team’s service to the community throughout the years. St. Luke’s is committed to helping fill gaps in access to care that this closure may create for our communities. An option available to people who may experience a gap in care is accessing St. Luke’s On-Demand Virtual Care service, which was established in 2021. Any patient who has a concern or experiences a gap in care can utilize this service. Here are a few helpful links to information:
- Learn more about On-Demand Virtual Care [stlukesonline.org] at St. Luke’s.
- For patients [stlukesonline.org] who may be new to St. Luke’s.
- St. Luke’s new patient line: 208-381-2329.
