Salem, Santiam Hospitals Finalize Affiliation
Cheryl Nester Wolfe, MSN, RN, President and System CEO of Salem Health Hospitals & Clinics, and Maggie Hudson, MBA, Site CEO of Santiam Hospital & Clinics
September 1, 2026
We are pleased to share that the affiliation between Salem Health Hospitals & Clinics and Santiam Hospital & Clinics has been completed, formalizing a partnership that will stabilize and strengthen healthcare and access for the communities both hospitals serve. You can read our press release here.
We are honored and grateful to be taking this significant step together to ensure the long-term availability of high-quality healthcare services close to home. Full integration will take several months, and we are committed to keeping our communities informed along the way.
Throughout this process, we heard from patients, employees, community members, local organizations, and partners across the region. We want you to know that your voices were heard. Your engagement, thoughtful questions, and shared perspectives informed this process and reflected the deep commitment our communities have to ensuring access to quality healthcare close to home.
The most important thing to know today is this: You can continue to access care just as you always have. Our top priority remains the same: supporting our clinicians and staff while providing the compassionate, high-quality care you know and deserve. We believe that healthcare begins close to home. For many individuals and families, their relationship with a trusted primary care provider is the cornerstone of their health and wellness journey, and maintaining access to those providers in our local communities remains a priority.
With the completion of our affiliation, we can move forward with confidence. This affiliation creates opportunities to strengthen services, enhance patient care, support and expand access to local primary care, improve access to specialty care, invest in technology and infrastructure, and support the long-term sustainability of local healthcare while preserving the relationships, values, and community focus that have always defined us. By joining Salem Health’s broader network, local providers will have greater access to specialist expertise and resources, helping ensure patients can receive coordinated, high-quality care while continuing to receive much of that care close to home. This strengthens the connection between local primary care providers and specialty services, creating a more seamless experience for patients and families across the region.
Thank you for your trust, support, and belief in us throughout this process. Because of you, we are well positioned to begin this chapter with optimism and purpose. Together, we will build on Santiam’s legacy, embrace new opportunities and continue providing exceptional care close to home for generations to come.
We welcome your questions and feedback as we work together to build a stronger, more accessible and sustainable healthcare system for the heartland of Oregon. Answers to frequently asked questions are below.
Together in partnership,
Cheryl Nester Wolfe, MSN, RN
President and System CEO
Salem Health Hospitals & Clinics
Maggie Hudson, MBA
Site CEO
Santiam Hospital & Clinics
Frequently asked questions
We welcome your questions and comments at community.relations@salemhealth.org and news@santiamhospital.org.
Does this affiliation change where I can go for healthcare?
There are no changes to your access to healthcare: You can continue to receive care just as you always have. Our top priority remains the same: supporting our clinicians and staff and continuing to provide the compassionate, high-quality care you know and deserve.
Primary care providers in small communities across our region are the cornerstone of health. This affiliation allows Santiam patients to match this access to primary care with a strong network of specialists from Salem Health, helping improve patient access and care.
How did this affiliation begin?
Salem Health Hospitals & Clinics and Santiam Hospital & Clinics share a longstanding history of collaboration. Over time, both organizations recognized that a formal affiliation would further strengthen our mutual commitment to providing high-quality, local, affordable care. The decision to pursue this affiliation developed naturally and mutually from our already strong relationship.
What are the benefits of the affiliation?
Healthcare is getting more complex and more expensive and no hospital — rural, regional or urban — can face these challenges alone.
Our affiliation combines Salem Health’s regional reach, commitment to resources and expertise with Santiam’s roots in the Santiam Canyon. Together we can keep access to rural healthcare in a community that would otherwise see cuts and closures.
Is this a merger?
No. As nonprofit health systems, we don’t report to shareholders. We’re guided by volunteer community boards and overseen by the IRS and the State of Oregon. They all use different technical terms for what we’re doing, but the plain and accurate word is affiliation.
The affiliation between Salem Health Hospitals & Clinics and Santiam Hospital & Clinics will combine the two entities. Santiam will become a hospital in the Salem Health system. The structure brings the strengths of the two organizations together to better serve the entire region.
Will both organizations remain nonprofits?
Yes. We share the same values and culture of commitment to excellent, community-based care.
How will the partnership impact donors and supporters?
Both organizations will continue to operate as they do now. Donors can support local services through the Santiam Hospital & Clinics Foundation, the Salem Health Foundation, and the Salem Health West Valley Foundation.
Will Regence BlueCross BlueShield insurance continue to be accepted at Santiam Hospital & Clinics?
Santiam Hospital & Clinics has a contract with Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield well into 2027. Regence BlueCross Blue Shield must agree to continue covering services at Santiam Hospital & Clinics following the affiliation. This is a developing matter, and information will be shared as it becomes available.
Is Regence BlueCross Blue Shield insurance accepted at Salem Health?
Regence patients can and should access emergency services at Salem Hospital and West Valley Hospital as needed. All insurers, including Regence, are required to cover emergency services even if the hospital is out of network. Regence remains out of network at this time for non-emergency care at Salem Hospital and West Valley Hospital.