Salem Health Hospitals & Clinics buys WVP Medical Group's six primary care clinics
Jonathan BachSalem Health Hospitals & Clinics, the city's largest private employer, has purchased WVP Medical Group, adding six primary care clinics to its roster across the Mid-Willamette Valley.
Meantime, Salem Health, one of the state's largest health care providers, still hasn't agreed to a contract with PacificSource Community Solutions to coordinate Medicaid benefits for patients. The new coordinated care organization already has struck deals with Salem Clinic and WVP Health Authority.
PacificSource spokesman Lee Dawson said Wednesday: "I can confirm that we’re still working on an agreement with Salem Health and both parties are committed to getting (an) agreement done, and that we expect to complete one very soon."
A Salem Health spokesman declined Wednesday to disclose the purchase price for WVP Medical Group, saying it was confidential.
"The partnership between Salem Health and WVP Medical Group has flourished in recent years," said Cheryl Wolfe, Salem Health's president and chief executive.
"Formally joining hands reflects a mutual interest to deepen that coordination for the good of the community," Wolfe said in a statement.
The move follows several years of collaboration between the two medical care providers, Salem Health said. The sale brings the following clinics under the Salem Health umbrella:
- WVP Independence-Monmouth Family Medicine
- WVP The Doctors' Clinic
- WVP Flaming Medical Center
- WVP Keizer Clinic
- Dallas Family Medicine
- WVP Boulder Creek
Though the deal is effective immediately, the two entities are still hashing out some details. Salem Health said its focus is making the transition smooth for patients.
Dean Andretta, WVP Health Authority's finance chief, said in a statement that the two medical care providers already share many patients. Andretta hailed the move as a chance for the two groups to improve care for the community.
Alex Rhoten, a real-estate broker who sits on the Salem Health Foundation board of directors, called the deal the coming together of "two competing factions."
Contact reporter Jonathan Bach by email at jbach@statesmanjournal.com or by phone at 503-399-6714. Follow him on Twitter at @jonathanmbach.