Idaho WWAMI

As Idaho's population ages, the need for physicians trained in geriatrics has never been greater.

Meet Dr. Kara K***z, a WWAMI graduate, geriatric medicine specialist at Saint Alphonsus, and dedicated physician preceptor who is helping prepare the next generation of doctors to care for older adults across Idaho.

After graduating, Dr. K***z returned home to build a career centered on caring for older adults, particularly those living with dementia. For the past decade, she has helped expand geriatric services in the Treasure Valley, helping establish Saint Alphonsus'
multidisciplinary geriatric consult clinic and later helping launch the Saint Alphonsus Memory Center.

Her passion for dementia care is deeply personal.

"My mother was the primary caregiver for my grandfather, who lived with Alzheimer's disease," she shares. "Although I didn't fully recognize it at the time, that experience profoundly shaped my career."

Today, Dr. K***z combines compassionate patient care with a commitment to supporting families and caregivers, recognizing that dementia affects entire families not just individuals.

Beyond the clinic, she's helping improve dementia care across Idaho through innovative community partnerships, education programs, and statewide collaboration. From dementia education workshops and the annual Brain Health Symposium to serving on Idaho's Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Task Force, she's working to expand access to care and support for patients and caregivers throughout the state.

She's also investing in Idaho's future physician workforce.

As a physician preceptor, Dr. K***z regularly welcomes Idaho WWAMI medical students, residents, and fellows into her clinic, giving learners invaluable hands-on experience in geriatrics and dementia care—one of the nation's fastest-growing areas of medicine.

"Teaching the next generation of healthcare providers is another passion of mine," she says. "I strongly believe geriatrics should be a fundamental part of medical education."

Thank you, Dr. K***z, for your dedication to your patients, your learners, and the future of health care in Idaho.

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Meet Wesley Simko, an Idaho WWAMI TRUST student who recently wrapped up his placement in Hailey.

Wesley grew up in Sandpoint, where his dad's work as an ER nurse in a critical access hospital gave him an early look at how much medicine can mean to a rural community. "I wanted to combine my love of science with my passion for helping uplift people in hard situations," he says.

Before medical school, Wesley researched the infectious cycle of SARS-CoV-2 with the Tropical Medicine department at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Hawaii, and worked at a medical detox facility serving unhoused people in Honolulu. Both experiences shaped how he thinks about the work ahead. "I was amazed by the resilience of the people I encountered," he says of the detox facility. "The staff's drive to help people stuck in really tough situations shaped my view of the responsibilities of a physician."

During his time as a TRUST student, Wesley valued the early clinical experience and the time he got to spend building relationships in one community. In Hailey, he set out to learn what it takes to be a community-oriented physician and to practice compassionate medicine in a fast-paced clinical setting. He's keeping his options open but is drawn to emergency medicine, and can picture himself one day practicing in Hailey or back home in Sandpoint.

What kept him going? "The experiences that I get to have out in the community, talking with people and hearing their stories."

When he's not training, you'll find Wesley outside: running, skiing, surfing, freediving, or traveling somewhere new.

Meet Aiden Niblett!

Aiden is an Idaho WWAMI MS1 heading into his RUOP rotation at Two Rivers Medical Clinic in Weiser starting this week. RUOP — the Rural/Urban Underserved Opportunities Program — is an elective four-week immersion experience in community medicine for first-year medical students, placing them in rural and underserved communities across the WWAMI region.

A Meridian native, Aiden comes to RUOP with a genuine curiosity about how rural clinicians meet the unique challenges their patient populations face — and a particular interest in serving Spanish-speaking patients, as a fluent Spanish speaker himself. Currently exploring internal medicine and hematology/oncology, he's keeping all doors open and focused on learning as much as possible from the mentors and physicians around him.

Outside the clinic, Aiden is a husband and dad to a two-year-old son, and makes the most of his weekends with family. When he's outdoors, you'll find him fishing or hiking; when he's indoors, he's likely listening to, singing, or playing music. 🏔️🎵

Welcome to Weiser, Aiden!

Meet Riley Hayes, an Idaho WWAMI student spending four weeks this summer with the Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP) in Sheridan, Montana!

Before medical school, Riley spent two years as a therapist in Boise — first at an outpatient substance use recovery clinic, then at the Boise VA. He loved the work, but realized many of the people he served needed more than talk therapy alone could provide. Shadowing psychiatric providers convinced him medicine was the next step.

Now he's hoping to specialize in psychiatry and he's earned his wings with the future in mind. Riley flies planes, an interest sparked by the idea of reaching rural Idaho communities faster than the roads allow. ("It's about two hours and 45 minutes to drive to Stanley from Boise. It's about a 35-minute flight.") One day, he hopes flying could help him bring psychiatric care to communities across the state.

Riley grew up in Boise and plans to practice in Idaho after graduation: "Idaho has a lot of problems, but it's home. My friends and family are here. I love it here."

What he's most looking forward to this summer? More clinical exposure; "the kind of medicine that helps everyday people."

When he's not studying or flying, you'll find him reading, at the gym, or on the volleyball court, playing the sport his grandpa taught him as a kid.

Born in Boise and raised in Kuna, Idaho WWAMI student Kenya Morales-Luna grew up interpreting for her parents at medical appointments, an early window into the barriers many families face in the U.S. healthcare system. "Through my experiences, I realized there was a need for physicians who spoke my native language, understood our culture and could serve the needs of my community."

Now a second-year TRUST Scholar, Kenya is completing her RUOP experience at Terry Reilly Health Services in Nampa. She's also part of the new hybrid Research (Discovery)/RUOP experience being piloted in Idaho, contributing to research on cardiovascular health in rural Hispanic and Latino communities.

As a National Health Service Corps Scholar, she has committed to primary care in underserved communities after residency, with a goal of practicing full-spectrum family medicine with obstetrics in Idaho.

"It has been a full-circle moment to return as a medical student to the same community health center that cared for my family."

Read her full story:

Idaho WWAMI Student Kenya Morales-Luna Pursues a Future in Community-Based Care - UWSOM Intranet Born in Boise and raised in Kuna, Idaho, Kenya Morales-Luna grew up as the daughter of immigrant parents from Guanajuato, Mexico. From a young age, she often served as an interpreter during her parents’ medical appointments, giving her an early view into the challenges many families face when navi...

Welcome to Idaho WWAMI, E26!

Last week, we welcomed the newest class of Idaho WWAMI medical students to the D.A. Huckabay M.D. Medical Education Building at the University of Idaho. Their first days were spent meeting classmates, connecting with faculty and staff, and forming the friendships and support network that will carry them through medical school.

As Idaho residents, these students are taking the first step toward becoming physicians while laying the scientific and clinical foundation needed to care for patients in Idaho and across the WWAMI region.

Over the coming months, they'll learn alongside University of Idaho faculty before continuing their clinical education through the University of Washington School of Medicine's nationally recognized WWAMI program at training sites throughout the region.

Idaho faces a critical physician shortage, and educating future physicians is an essential part of strengthening the state's healthcare workforce. We're proud to welcome E26 and look forward to the impact these students will have on the health of our communities for years to come.

Welcome to Idaho WWAMI, E26. We can't wait to see where your journey leads.

More than 37 million Americans live with migraine, one of the most common neurological conditions in the country. For many people across North Idaho, finding specialized neurological care close to home hasn't always been possible.

Dr. Cliff Hampton is helping change that. An epilepsy specialist and medical director of the neurology clinic at Kootenai Health, he's spent 11 years helping grow the program from three neurologists to a team of 13 providers spanning multiple subspecialties including a nationally accredited epilepsy center, a multiple sclerosis center of excellence, and a designated stroke center. He was instrumental in bringing the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit to Kootenai Health, expanding access to advanced diagnostic care for the region.

He's also a physician preceptor for Idaho WWAMI students, passing on the expertise that comes from practicing on the front lines of care in this region. "Being a preceptor is rewarding, especially when we have students that come here for their family medicine residency and then stay locally as primary care providers," he says.

"I hope that patients in this region understand that they don't have to settle for decades-old, second-rate neurology care. We can provide modern diagnostic studies, medical treatments, and offer surgical treatments when appropriate and we can do that right here in North Idaho."

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Meet Jacob Peterson! Jacob is an Idaho WWAMI MS1 heading into his RUOP rotation at Marimn Health starting mid-July. RUOP — the Rural/Urban Underserved Opportunities Program — is an elective four-week immersion experience in community medicine for first-year medical students, placing them in rural and underserved communities across the WWAMI region.

Growing up in Ammon, Idaho, Jacob's path to medicine was shaped by two powerful experiences. He spent his childhood alongside adults with Down syndrome in his family's personal care home, gaining early exposure to long-term care and the dignity it requires. He also grew up uninsured — and it was his family physician, Dr. James Phillippi, who dedicated his practice to caring for patients just like him, that showed Jacob what medicine at its most compassionate looks like. That example never left him.

Now in medical school, Jacob is drawn to understanding how rural healthcare systems deliver care under real-world constraints — and how they build the kind of trust that keeps patients coming back. Through RUOP, he's eager to see those strategies up close.

When he's not in the clinic, Jacob is working through his reading list, lifting weights, or logging miles on the road — currently training for a half-marathon this spring and a full marathon in the fall. 🏋️📖

Welcome to your rotation, Jacob!

Meet our E26 TRUST scholars!

On the first day of orientation, we welcomed our newest Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) scholars with a luncheon celebrating the start of their medical education journey.

TRUST connects medical students with rural and underserved communities across Idaho through a continuity experience that spans all four years of medical school. Each scholar is paired with a TRUST community, where they'll build lasting relationships with patients, physicians, and the community itself; training the next generation of doctors for the places that need them most.

Congratulations to our E26 TRUST scholars and their communities!

Pictured from left to right we have:

Heidi Sellman – Moscow
Haili Fox – Hailey
Natali Compillo – Jerome
Benjamin Ting – Orofino
Dylan Holmes – Nampa

We can't wait to see all you accomplish!

Meet Grace Benjamin!

Grace is an Idaho WWAMI MS1 kicking off her RUOP rotation at FCMC Medical Clinic today. RUOP — the Rural/Urban Underserved Opportunities Program — is an elective four-week immersion experience in community medicine for first-year medical students, placing them in rural and underserved communities across the WWAMI region.

A Boise native, Grace was drawn to medicine through a love of problem solving and a deep fascination with science and the human body. That curiosity became a calling during her three years as a CNA at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, where she cared for patients from all walks of life. Those experiences shaped her commitment to being not just a skilled clinician, but a calm, compassionate, and dependable presence for patients and families during some of their most vulnerable moments.

Through RUOP, Grace is especially looking forward to experiencing the continuity of care and close provider-patient relationships that define rural medicine — and to growing both personally and professionally along the way.

When she's not in the clinic, you'll find Grace cooking, baking, exploring the outdoors, traveling, or planning her next scuba dive. 🌊✈️

Welcome to your rotation, Grace!