Intermountain Health, a large healthcare system operating across seven states, announced the closure of Saltzer Health, a multispecialty physician group it acquired in 2020. The closure, effective March 29, 2024, comes after Saltzer Health, a cornerstone of Idaho’s healthcare landscape for 63 years with 11 locations and roughly 100,000 annual patients, failed to find a buyer.
Saltzer Health attributed the closure to “ongoing financial and economic pressures and challenges” impacting healthcare institutions nationwide. The group, in a statement posted to its website, cited rising healthcare costs fueled by inflation and setbacks in securing vital contracts as key factors leading to unsustainable losses.
The Idaho Statesman reported that Intermountain Health, upon announcing the closure, removed most branding references to Saltzer Health from its website. This abrupt closure raised concerns about the future of crucial healthcare services in the Treasure Valley region. Saltzer Health was the area’s only 24/7 urgent care provider and offered essential pregnancy care options. The sudden closure left many patients scrambling to find new healthcare providers.
However, there were some positive developments. Saltzer Health was able to secure agreements with other healthcare providers to ensure continuity of care for some services. Saint Alphonsus Health System acquired Saltzer’s ambulatory surgery center in Meridian and two urgent care centers in the same city. These urgent care centers are expected to reopen in May after Saint Alphonsus installs new IT infrastructure and electronic medical records systems.
Intermountain Medical Imaging of Idaho also purchased Saltzer’s imaging center in Meridian, with plans to reopen it by the end of April after a brief transition period. Intermountain Medical Imaging expressed its commitment to offering positions to several key Saltzer Health imaging center employees who played a vital role in daily operations.
Saltzer Health also announced that multiple clinic locations would remain open under new ownership. These locations will be leased to other healthcare providers, with many former Saltzer Health physicians continuing to serve patients at these clinics.
Furthermore, Saltzer Health partnered with Datavant, a third-party vendor, to ensure secure management of patients’ medical records for at least ten years.
The closure of Saltzer Health highlights the ongoing financial challenges facing healthcare providers around the country. Despite these headwinds, the acquisition of Saltzer’s key services by other healthcare players demonstrates the continued interest in expanding primary care, urgent care, and outpatient services within existing networks.
While some patients will be impacted by the closure and require new providers, the agreements with Saint Alphonsus Health System and Intermountain Medical Imaging offer some level of continuity for critical healthcare services in the Treasure Valley region. The planned reopening of the urgent care centers and imaging center, along with the continued operation of some clinic locations under new ownership, will be crucial for maintaining access to essential healthcare services within the community.
(Hero image credit: Intermountain Health)
