Published on March 31, 2025
Phelps Health and Salem Memorial Hospital (SMH) are continuing to take steps towards affiliation, with teams from both organizations working diligently through the process.
Following the due diligence phase, the two organizations are working through the findings and determining how those findings might impact next steps.
“As with any major collaboration, this process can take quite a bit of time,” Jason Shenefield, Phelps Health CEO, said. “Transactions of this nature are inherently complex.”
According to Brooke Bollman, SMH CEO, teams from Phelps Health and SMH are currently reviewing legal documents. “Healthcare is a highly regulated industry so we must take the utmost care throughout the negotiation process.”
Because both organizations need to be satisfied with the outcome, determining a timeline for implementation continues to be difficult.
“Steady progress is being made,” Shenefield said. “Representatives from Phelps Health and SMH are working closely together and moving as quickly as possible.”
In the meantime, both teams remain focused on doing what’s best for our communities. “We are committed to ensuring that our region continues to have long-term access to top-quality healthcare,” Bollman said.