St. Luke’s Children’s Surgery provides the most advanced pediatric surgery and trauma care in the region. Our surgeons treat children of all ages—including newborns, infants, school age and adolescents—alongside dedicated pediatric specialists at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital, the only children’s hospital in Idaho. Our focus on the unique needs of younger patients sets us apart, and our specially trained care team of pediatric anesthesiologists, radiologists, and nurses work closely with our surgeons in dedicated pediatric facilities and surgery suites where kids get specialized, compassionate care. When additional support is required during recovery, St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital also has the region’s largest and most experienced pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
Our surgeons offer expertise in both general and highly specialized areas of pediatric surgery, from common procedures to manage conditions such as hernias, appendicitis, and pyloric stenosis to more complex surgeries. Often, even our most complex procedures can be performed through minimally invasive techniques that can decrease post-operative pain, increase the speed of recovery, and improve cosmetic results. Our decisions on how to approach each surgery are always made with the child's best interest in mind.
Our team has extensive experience managing and performing surgery to treat and correct:
To reach the St. Luke's Children's Surgery on-call physician, please call our regular office number, (208) 381-7370 or (208) 368-6705, and the answering system will direct your call. In case of emergency, call 911.
Tricia Beveridge-Choo, MSN, APRN, NP-C is a nurse practitioner with the St. Luke’s Children's Surgery and pediatric trauma service. Tricia has expertise in managing a diverse collection of pediatric surgical cases including gastrostomy tube, chest wall deformities, wound management, general pre- and post-operative care of children with a variety of diagnoses, traumatic injuries, and neonatal diagnosis and care. She is dedicated to fostering education for families and promoting high quality care to the children of our region.
Tricia has special interest in chest wall deformities and wound management, and attended the Chest Wall International meeting in 2017. Along with Dr. Ellen Reynolds, she has established and curated a center for chest wall deformity repair. Tricia has also collaborated with Dr. Kendra Bowman in creating a burn and wound clinic for wound management of pediatric patients.
Tricia is board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the College of Idaho, where she graduated with honors. She also received a bachelor's degree in nursing and a master's degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Idaho State University.
In her free time, Tricia enjoys spending time with her family in the outdoors.Kimberly A. DeMark, MSN, APRN, NP-C is a nurse practitioner with St. Luke’s Children’s Surgery and pediatric trauma service. She has experience in managing gastrostomy tubes, burns, pre- and post-operative care for chest and abdominal tumors, chest wall deformities, gastrointestinal disorders/diseases and skin and soft tissue diagnoses. She is also an experienced pediatric registered nurse, having worked on the pediatric floor at St. Luke’s prior to obtaining her master's degree.
Kimberly is board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Oregon Health and Science University and received her master’s degree in nursing as a family nurse practitioner from Gonzaga University.
Kimberly's hobbies include camping, hiking, fishing, boating, and snow skiing, especially with her husband and children.
Jacob Gere, NP is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner. He earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Boise State University and a master’s degree in nursing from Oregon Health & Science University. He completed training as a surgical first assist through the National Institute of First Assisting.
Katherine Gonzalez, MD specializes in pediatric surgery, and has additional interest in surgical care for critical newborn and trauma patients. Her professional goals include expanding regional access to care, fostering multidisciplinary/interprofessional education, and promoting high-quality outcomes research to better serve the pediatric surgical needs of our region.
Dr. Gonzalez received a bachelor's degree in biology and medical humanities from Baylor University, where she also competed on the water polo team. She earned her medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine and subsequently completed her general surgical residency at the Texas A&M/Scott and White Memorial Hospital program, a highly specialized referral center focused on treating a diverse spectrum of surgical disease in children, adults and veterans from a broad geographical region.
During a two-year dedicated research fellowship at Children’s Mercy Hospital, Dr. Gonzalez performed robust prospective and retrospective clinical research. These efforts resulted in numerous peer-reviewed publications in key areas of surgical care including postoperative pain management, appropriate imaging utilization, improvement of quality metrics such as wound classification, and improvement of neonatal outcomes. While in Kansas City, she also completed a surgical critical care fellowship in bowel rehabilitation, neonatal surgical management and trauma care. Next, Dr. Gonzalez completed a fellowship in pediatric surgery at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital where she received extensive training in congenital diaphragmatic hernia management and minimally invasive resection of benign and malignant tumors, as well as broad exposure to general surgical techniques for children of all ages.
In her spare time, Dr. Gonzalez enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and two sons.Sarah Hirsch, MD specializes in a broad range of neonatal and pediatric general surgery, and has extensive experience with complex laparoscopic and thorascopic procedures. She enjoys the broad range of minimally-invasive surgery, including complex foregut surgery, hernias, biliary surgery, and intestinal procedures for neonatal and pediatric patients. She also has special interest in prenatal consultation for thoracic and abdominal anomalies.
Dr. Hirsch feels fortunate to care for patients from all over Idaho, as well as surrounding states. She is also passionate about helping St. Luke's Children's Hospital become recognized as a nationally-accredited children's hospital.
Dr. Hirsch earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at Purdue University. After medical school and her general surgery residency, she participated in an NIH research fellowship in genetics at Indiana University and completed her fellowship training in pediatric surgery at Riley Hospital for Children.
Outside of work, Dr. Hirsch enjoys biking, yoga, tennis, and spending time outdoors with her husband and two daughters.
David A. Klima, MD is a pediatric surgeon who performs a wide range of surgeries involving the chest, abdomen, skin, and soft tissues. He has extensive experience with chest wall deformities (including pectus excavatum and the Nuss procedure), lung and colorectal surgery, as well as esophageal, gastric, hepatobiliary, hernia and cancer surgery. Dr. Klima has particular interest in applying minimally invasive techniques with newborns, as well as with children and adolescents through single incision laparoscopic surgery. He currently serves as medical director for pediatric surgery at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Klima completed his bachelor's degree in biochemistry with a minor in psychology at the University of Kansas, where he also attended medical school. During this time, he was elected president of the Alpha Omega Alpha Society, named Doctor’s Doctor by his classmates, and awarded the Gold Humanism Award. Next, he trained at Carolinas Medical Center, learning from some of the world's leaders in laparoscopy and hernia repair, and completing a research fellowship in minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Klima won numerous awards for his research throughout the United States and Europe. He also received the Surgical Professionalism Award four times, was named Resident Teacher of the Year, and is still the only surgery resident to be named Intern of the Year at Carolinas Medical Center. His subsequent fellowship at Children’s of Alabama focused on advanced techniques in minimally invasive surgery for newborns and single incision laparoscopic surgery.
Since his arrival in Boise, Dr. Klima has helped lead quality improvement initiatives, working to standardize pediatric surgical care at St. Luke’s while advancing the quality of care throughout Idaho. He is the current co-chair of the blood community of practice for St. Luke’s and the co-founder and director of the lymphovascular malformation group, bringing specialized care to these complex pediatric patients. Dr. Klima also travels regularly to Twin Falls and sees patients virtually in McCall to serve the local population.
Ellen Reynolds, MD has a professional interest in the repair of chest wall deformities, including pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum, and has completed an advanced pectus course through Phoenix Children's Hospital. She performs sternal and chest reconstruction and has training in the Nuss and Ravitch procedures.
Dr. Reynolds started a pectus repair program at St. Luke's and has designed a specific sternal hook, known as a Reynolds Sternal Hook, for use during minimally invasive repair procedures.
In her spare time, Dr. Reynolds is an accomplished competitive swimmer and enjoys spending time with her family.
Allyson Reynolds, NP is board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Her professional interests include pediatric short bowel syndrome and intestinal failure. Several years ago, she started the pediatric intestinal rehabilitation clinic in conjunction with pediatric gastroenterology and continues to co-manage the clinic today. Allyson is passionate about advancing St. Luke's pediatric enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program, the first pediatric program of its kind in Idaho. As part of this initiative, she developed a protocol to improve surgical outcomes, decrease the need for pain medications, and decrease length of stay.
Allyson works closely with patients and their families to understand the physical and emotional stress that a surgery or hospitalization can cause on the family system. She often talks with parents about coping skills, mindfulness, and emotional support and helps to arrange counseling for families after hospital discharge.
In her free time, Allyson loves spending time in the Idaho wilderness with her family.
Morgan Richards, MD, MPH is a pediatric surgeon with a broad range of interests including neonatal congenital anomalies, pediatric oncology, hepatobiliary problems, and congenital lung anomalies. She also manages general pediatric disorders such as hernias, appendicitis, pyloric stenosis, feeding disorders, and gallbladder problems.
Dr. Richards is the medical director of pediatric trauma at St. Luke’s, which has the only level II pediatric trauma center in Idaho. She has also acted as the pediatric surgeon champion for the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) and has a strong interest in quality improvement in pediatric care. She serves on many national committees including the Surgical Quality and Safety, Nominating, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees of the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA).
Dr. Richards earned her bachelor’s degree in history of science and medicine from Yale University, where she graduated with honors and played varsity basketball. She attended Case Western Reserve University for medical school where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society. Dr. Richards completed her residency at the University of Washington where she devoted three additional years to research at Seattle Children’s Hospital and obtained a master’s degree of public health in epidemiology at the University of Washington. Her research included surgical oncology, examining adult tumors in children using the National Cancer Data Base, and the standardization of care for medically complex children. This work led to numerous publications and presentations.
Dr. Richards completed her pediatric surgical training at Emory University, which is internationally known for its innovative approach to advanced minimally invasive surgery in children. She trained with world experts in neonatal minimally invasive surgical techniques that included thoracoscopic congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair, tracheoesophageal fistula ligation and esophageal atresia repair, and laparoscopic duodenal atresia repair. She also gained experience with minimally invasive treatment of Hirschsprung disease and anorectal malformations.
In her free time, Dr. Richards enjoys cooking, cycling, watching movies and exploring the outdoors with her family.
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