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New Full Time Gastroenterologist to Talk Colon Cancer
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Thursday, October 4, 2018
 

BY KAREN BOSSICK

St. Luke’s new fulltime gastroenterologist will introduce himself to the community today with a free Brown Bag talk on Colon Cancer Screening.

Dr. Brian Berk will present the free lecture from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. today—Thursday, Oct. 4--in the River Run Room at St. Luke’s Wood River south of Ketchum.

Berk will deliver the good news that, while colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths, its death rates have been dropping in part due to colon screenings. Berk will discuss current screening methods and talk about who should get the screenings and when they should get them. And he will discuss prevention and treatment options.

Dr. Berk has been visiting St. Luke’s Wood River every Friday to consult with patients and perform colonoscopies every Friday for the past five years. He’s been in such high demand that a large number of  people have had to leave the valley for care since he could only handle so many patients. Having him in the valley full time will reduce the time it takes to get an appointment and the need for patients to travel to Twin Falls, said Joy Prudek, communications director for St. Luke’s.

Got heartburn? Swallowing trouble? Abdominal pain? Nausea? Vomiting? Blood in stools? Alterations in bowel habits? Yellowing of the skin? Fluid retention? These are all features of GI and liver-related conditions, which Berk can attend to.

In addition to managing gastrointestinal disorders, he has a particular interest in caring for patients with chronic liver disease cirrhosis and liver cancer. He also manages patient care after liver transplants and is an expert in biliary and pancreatic invasive treatment, ultrasound guided, liver biopsy and ultrasound guided paracentesis.

Berk attended medical school at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and completed his residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Gastroenterology at Oregon Health Sciences University.

He is board certified in Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Transplant Medicine.

Dr. Berk held an academic position at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center from 2000 to 2005, focusing his career on Hepatology and Transplant Medicine as a member of the Starzl Transplant Institute.

He also served as the Heptology Fellowship Training Director and Medical Director of Live Donor Liver Transplant. Not only did he care for patients and teach medical students but he conducted research on chronic liver disease management.

In 2005 he moved to Dartmouth Medical Center where he continued to teach Gastroenterology and Hepatology while providing patient care and conducting clinical research projects. He also held the title of Medical Director of Chronic Liver Disease and of Dartmouth’s Multidisciplinary Liver Tumor Program, while there.

In 2012 Berk decided to leave academia for private practice. He chose Idaho because the state is underserved when it comes to the management of chronic liver diseases. He decided to move his practice to Sun Valley in September 2018.

“I am particularly interested in teaching patients about their conditions so they can understand their illnesses and take charge of them,” he said.

He moves here with his wife Stacy and their rescue beagles—all excited to hit the hiking and biking trails, take advantage of Sun Valley’s world-class skiing and go camping.

Berk is located at 100 Hospital Drive, Suite 201 in the Physician Office Annex. To schedule an appointment, call 208-727-8888.

 

 

 

 

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