By Hayden Seder
Pediatrician Katie Quayle, M.D., joined the staff of St. Luke’s Family Medicine Clinic in Hailey on Oct. 22. This is the first time in more than 10 years that St. Luke’s Wood River has had a full-time pediatrician in the Wood River Valley. In addition to seeing her patients, Quayle will also be available on a consultative basis with the family medicine providers. She will also serve the needs of pediatric inpatients at St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center. In addition to Quayle’s pediatric services, Dr. Nancy Mann will continue to provide developmental pediatric services on a weekly basis.
Adding Dr. Quayle to the roster at St. Luke’s is one of several efforts that the organization has made in the past year to expand its capacity and capabilities.
Dr. Quayle is a pediatrician with a special interest in preventative care, mental health, and working with adolescents. She received her undergraduate education at Williams College and earned her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. After taking a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course in Wyoming when she was younger, Dr. Quayle developed a love of the outdoors. Quayle moved west for her residency at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, then joined Southridge Pediatrics as a general practitioner in Riverton, Utah.
“My husband Forrest and I are both thrilled to be in Sun Valley,” Quayle said. “We both love being outside in the mountains, camping, hiking, mountain biking, backcountry skiing and cross-country skiing. I love long-distance trail running as well and am excited for the many trails surrounding the Valley. Forrest is an avid whitewater kayaker who is happy to be a little closer to rivers than he was in Salt Lake City.”
Dr. Quayle approaches pediatrics in a holistic manner, taking where a child lives, his or her family, diet, and interests into account when assessing a child’s health. Getting to know each patient both in-depth and for the long-term is important to Dr. Quayle.
“My philosophy as a pediatrician is to take care of the whole child,” Quayle said. “As more and more children are struggling with mental health, pediatricians have an important role in taking care of kids’ emotional health, too.”
After a month of orientation, Dr. Quayle began seeing her first patients on Monday, Oct. 29.
“My first day was great!” Quayle said. “I had a couple of patients scheduled, which was awesome, and everyone was really helpful and friendly. I loved having longer time with my patients than I did in Salt Lake, where I worked at a pretty busy clinic with a lot of kids. Here, things will be slower and give me more time to get to know my families and spend time with them.”
For more information and to schedule an appointment, call (208) 788-3434 or visit stlukesonline.org.