Our providers offer compassionate care in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN & midwifery, orthopedics, general surgery, ENT, ophthalmology, sleep medicine, urgent care and other specialties.
Founded by Dr. Joseph Saltzer in 1961. Our mission is to help people live the healthiest lives possible.
The Saltzer Story
Founded in 1961 by Dr. Joseph Saltzer, our organization is built on strong patient-doctor relationships that continue for generations.
Dr. Saltzer was born on an English immigrant ship heading to Canada. After settling with his family in Montreal, he earned a medical degree in 1935 from the prestigious McGill University in Quebec, Canada.
Dr. Saltzer completed his internship in New York City and started his medical career specializing in pathology. At the time, it was not unusual for pathologists to get tuberculosis and soon Dr. Saltzer was fighting the disease. After suffering from a collapsed lung and a remission, he was urged to go “out west” where the dryer weather would be more conducive to a full recovery.
Ultimately, Dr. Saltzer moved to Homedale, Idaho where he put up his shingle. One day he was chatting with the local druggist when a rancher came in looking for veterinary pharmaceuticals for his prize bull. As he described the symptoms to the druggist, Dr. Saltzer recognized the symptoms as an upper respiratory infection of streptococcal origin. Sulfa had just come on the market. Together, Dr. Saltzer and the rancher figured out the dosage and proceeded to the ranch where they administered the medication to the bull.
The bull survived and Dr. Saltzer’s fame spread throughout the rural area. His medical practice in Homedale grew until he eventually moved more than 20 miles to Nampa to be near a hospital.
There, he teamed up with a local surgeon, Dr. Kellogg, and networked with other local physicians while trying to find the best medical solutions for his patients. Eventually, Dr. Saltzer and Dr. Kellogg formed a medical group with Dr. Robert Hay and Dr. Harold Brown. Originally known as Medical Center Physicians, the name changed in 1999 to Saltzer Medical Group. After five decades practicing medicine, Dr. Saltzer retired at the age of 76.
In April 2019, Saltzer Medical Group was acquired by Ball Ventures Ahlquist, an Idaho-based development company led by Cortney Liddiard and Tommy Ahlquist, a former emergency room physician.
The name Saltzer Medical Group was changed to Saltzer Health to better reflect the organization’s expanded vision and future as a leader in quality, transparency, and low-cost healthcare.
Saltzer Health Leadership
John Kaiser, MD, is VP/Chief Medical Officer of Saltzer Health. He is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and sees patients at the North Nampa clinic. Dr. Kaiser earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Florida Atlantic University and an MBA and Master’s in Industrial Engineering at the University of Miami, while pursuing a successful career with IBM as a quality test engineer, product engineering manager and program manager.
In the 1990s, he earned a medical degree from the University of Miami and completed his residency at the University of Vermont. In 1999, he joined Medical Center Physicians, which was later renamed Saltzer Medical Group.
