BY KAREN BOSSICK

Just eight months after a new pediatrician joined St. Luke’s, the hospital’s foundation has established the funding of an endowment for pediatric care in the Wood River Valley.

St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation had hoped to raise $1 million to guarantee the specialized care for families and children in perpetuity.

It raised $1,272,576, demonstrating the enthusiasm and commitment of the community.

“We are extremely grateful to the community to fulfill this need,” said Megan Tanous, chief development officer for St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation. “I have received a tremendous amount of positive feedback about adding Dr. (Katie) Quayle to our talented and dedicated medical staff.”

Tanous and her husband Adam Tanous were among the first, if not the first, to avail themselves of Dr. Katie Quayle’s care for their now-7-month-old daughter Caroline.

“I was absolutely impressed with her expertise and commitment,” said Tanous. “She gives you time to talk through all the concerns you have.”

Quayle joined St. Luke’s Wood River Family Medicine in October 2018, and 81 percent of her available appointments have been scheduled since. That’s 176 patient visits per month.

She also is part of the hospitalist program in the medical/surgical department, providing care to pediatric inpatients. She says she doesn’t feel isolated as the sole pediatrician in the Wood River Valley because she has many wonderful family medicine co-workers to connect with, in addition to pediatricians working in Twin Falls.

“I can’t believe that I’ve been here six months already!” she said. “It’s a wonderful place to be a pediatrician. I am liking the mix of inpatient and outpatient pediatrics. And I’m enjoying getting to know the community through meeting some of its younger members as patients.”

Quayle said she wants parents to know that none of their questions are silly.

“I don’t mind at all when parents come in with their child for their well child check with a long list of questions.”

The St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation has raised the money for a variety of services, including an Oncology Infusion Center and St. Luke’s Mental Health Clinic.

To learn more about the St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation, visit www.slwrf.org or contact Marsha Edwards at edwardsma@slhs.org or 208-727-8416.

Appointments with Dr. Quayle can be made at 208-788-3434.