JEROME • Months after quietly merging with the state’s largest employer, Jerome’s hospital is set to receive some benefits from its new owner.

St. Luke’s Health System has set aside $780,000 for the Jerome medical center — formerly St. Benedicts Family Medical Center — to be used for technological upgrades.

Before the integration, St. Luke’s hospital administrators promised to set the Jerome location up to use electronic medical records. The health system is remaining true to its promise by setting aside $280,000 to be spent immediately on the technology.

Another $500,000 will be used to purchase a digital mammography system, a feature the hospital currently lacks, said Jim Angle, CEO for both St. Luke’s Jerome and St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls.

Angle spoke in front of the Jerome Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday to update the business community on the merger’s progress.

He briefly mentioned that the hospital is in the middle of developing a three-year management plan for the Jerome location. Though Angle declined further comment to the Times-News about the plan, St. Luke’s Health System spokesman Ken Dey said it will be a strategy on how best to manage the hospital in the long term.

“A lot of it will be determined by local focus groups we have scheduled to start later this summer,” he said.

During his presentation, Angle did stress that the transition into the health system was continuing smoothly for St. Luke’s Jerome.

One of the remaining decisions is whether St. Luke’s Jerome’s foundation board will remain independent from the Magic Valley board, said Dawn Soto, a board member for the Jerome foundation.

Both the Twin Falls and Jerome foundation boards are volunteer-based entities that raise donations for the medical centers, she said.

“During a joint meeting, we discussed the benefits and challenges if we decided to combine the two,” Soto said. “The benefits would be access to more resources. But a challenge might be one with perception. People may not want to give if they feel like their money won’t be staying in the community.”

The two boards don’t have a deadline on when they have to make a decision, but Soto said she expects the two to merge.

“We’re not in competition with the other board,” she said. “I think we can overcome the challenge if we decide to integrate.”