Primary Health acquires Saltzer Health ENT practice

Primary Health Medical Group has acquired an ear, nose and throat practice from Saltzer Health in the Ten Mile Crossing business development north of Interstate 84 in southwest Meridian.

The Boise-based medical group said Monday that it has also hired four providers who used to work at Saltzer. Two of them — Dr. Jake Majors, an ear, nose and throat specialist, and Shannon Gardiner, a physician assistant — will continue seeing patients on the second floor of the Ten Mile campus as they did under Saltzer, but with new management.

Primary Health, which is the largest independent medical group in the state, also hired Dr. Kimberly Ferguison, a pediatrician, and Dr. Rick Roberts, an internist.

“The closure of Saltzer Health has presented a challenge to everyone in health care in the Valley,” Primary Health President Brian Windau said in a news release. “Preserving patient access to care is our top priority, and with that in mind we welcome our new providers and remain focused on smooth transitions and ensuring convenient access to care.”

Saltzer’s parent nonprofit, Intermountain Health Care, announced in January that the Treasure Valley medical group would either sell or close by end of March, citing “significant financial pressures.”

Saltzer’s last day of business was Friday, March 29.

Saint Alphonsus Health System has worked out a deal with Saltzer to keep some of its operations alive, including an ambulatory surgery center and urgent-care clinic, both of which are located in the Ten Mile campus, which previously housed the Boise area’s only 24-hour, seven-day-a-week urgent-care clinic.

That clinic is temporarily closed. It will reopen in May, a spokesperson for Saint Alphonsus said, but the health system hasn’t decided whether the clinic will resume its 24-7 schedule.