St. Luke’s Clinic – Family Medicine welcomes two new primary care physicians
St. Luke’s is happy to welcome Victoria Kent, DO and Joe Pendleton, MD, who are joining the St. Luke’s Wood River Family Medicine Clinic as primary care providers, in January of 2023. They both attended University of Wisconsin-Madison for their undergraduate degree, which is where they met and embarked on a path that led them to the Wood River Valley. Pendleton majored in microbiology with minors in gender studies and global health. He continued his education at University of Wisconsin-Madison for medical school. During his 3rd and 4th years he was able to follow his passion for rural healthcare by rotating around the small communities of Wisconsin. Kent majored in Biology and Spanish at University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed her medical degree at Pacific Northwest University of Osteopathic Medicine in Yakima. She says, “Almost all of my clinical rotations were in rural Washington, and I was drawn to the scope of a family physician in a rural community.”
They then completed their residency at Family Medicine Residency of Idaho (FMRI). Pendleton explains, “Tori and I were drawn to the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho in Boise for its challenging curriculum and focus on rural communities. During residency we were able to rotate in the Wood River Valley and fell in love with the extremely patient centered and medical team-based approach employed by the St Luke’s team, ensuring high value care in a small setting.” He adds, “I am excited to work with a new set of patients in the Wood River with focus on inclusive and supportive medical care tailored to individual goals. I am particularly interested in reproductive care as well as mental health.”
Kent explains her approach to patient care, “I try my best to give patients options in treatment plans, providing pros and cons of certain paths and coming up with a solution together. I speak Spanish and hope to help fill a need in serving this population as well. Being an osteopathic physician, I have an added focus on helping the body heal through musculoskeletal manipulations and targeted treatments for those experiencing pain or injury.”
Kent and Pendleton have hiked the entirety of the Appalachian Trail and most recently hiked the Continental Divide, a 3100 mile journey, before moving to the Wood River Valley. Pendleton explains, “outside of work I have been known to take on ‘slightly too big’ running, hiking, and skiing adventures for which the Wood River will be a perfect jumping off base. We are also excited to be joined in the valley by Tori’s parents and hopefully will be able to add a dog to our family soon.” Kent adds, “I am so excited to live in this area, as someone who loves cross country skiing, running and hiking, this place is a paradise! In the weeks I lived here it’s obvious that there is such a strong supportive community here and I look forward to getting to know its members.”
Drs Kent and Pendleton will be located in the St. Luke’s Clinic – Family Medicine in Hailey, 1450 Aviation Drive. To schedule an appointment, call (208) 788-3434 or schedule online via myChart. Office hours are M-F 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
