Bruce Cherny, MD specializes in neurosurgical consultation and education for skull, brain, and spinal tumors; craniosynostosis; congenital malformations of the skull, brain, and spinal cord; hydrocephalus; spina bifida and tethered spinal cords; Chiari malformations; vascular malformations of the brain and spinal cord; and traumatic brain, spine, and spinal cord injury. He has expertise in image-guided frameless stereotaxy, minimally invasive techniques, and advanced, complex endoscopic procedures.

Dr. Cherny has held many leadership positions at St. Luke's and currently serves as a member of the St. Luke's Children's Hospital executive team and the pediatric trauma task force. He is also currently surgeon in chief at St. Luke's Children's Hospital and the chair of the St. Luke's Children's surgical committee.

Dr. Cherny began his practice as an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Arkansas Children's Hospital. He spent eight years in academic neurosurgery, both in Arkansas and at the Barrow Institute in Phoenix, before coming to Boise to develop the pediatric neurosurgical program for Idaho. In addition to his medical education, Dr. Cherny holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University. 

Mitzi Cieslak, NP-C is certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She has special interest in all aspects of pediatric care. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Seattle University and her master’s degree in nursing, family nurse practitioner, from Gonzaga University.

Erin M. Conlee, MD specializes in the rehabilitation and management of children with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, concussion, neuromuscular disorders (such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida), and an array of musculoskeletal conditions. She has a particular interest in oncology-related impairments and conditions. She also offers spasticity management with pediatric baclofen pumps or injections (botulinum toxin, phenol) as well as injections to reduce oral secretions. She serves as medical director for St. Luke's Children's Rehabilitation.

Dr. Conlee works to maximize quality of life and restore optimal functioning to patients through working with a multidisciplinary team of therapists and ancillary providers. She is passionate about caring for children and young adults, striving to meet needs across a variety of conditions and health care settings.

Dr. Conlee is active with the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and has served as chair of their adaptive sports and recreation committee. She has also volunteered with the Challenged Athletes Foundation and Special Olympics. 

Dr. Conlee earned her undergraduate degree in biology and chemistry at Northwest Nazarene University, where she also played Division II basketball. After medical school at University of California, San Diego, she completed her residency and fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, serving as chief resident at Mayo Clinic Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. While in Minnesota, she also developed an adaptive rock climbing program for local kids and teens.

In her free time, Dr. Conlee loves spending time with her husband and their two sons, ideally in the mountains.

Samantha Cragg, MD treats children with disabilities to improve their quality of life and help them become as functionally independent as possible. She treats a wide variety of conditions such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, neuromuscular disorders and genetic conditions. Dr. Cragg ensures her patients receive appropriate therapies, bracing and equipment, as well as access to new neuromuscular medications as they are approved by the FDA. She also specializes in tone management, including oral medications, botulinum toxin injections and intrathecal baclofen pump management. She is passionate about treating children with neuromuscular disorders and enjoys building relationships with her patients and their families.

Dr. Cragg completed her medical training at Mercer University School of Medicine followed by an internship year in internal medicine at Memorial Health Hospital. She then completed her residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of California, Irvine, where she was elected chief resident. Next, Dr. Cragg completed fellowship training in pediatric rehabilitation medicine at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, remaining on staff afterward as an attending physician, serving as assistant medical director of the Muscle and Nerve Clinic, and leading monthly multidisciplinary neuromuscular meetings. At St. Luke's, Dr. Cragg serves as medical director for St. Luke’s Children's Muscular Dystrophy Clinic.

In her free time, Dr. Cragg enjoys biking, hiking, running, paddle boarding, and exploring Idaho with her husband and two children.

Michele Ebbers, MD specializes in all aspects of pediatric urology including hypospadias, undescended testicles, hydronephrosis, UTIs, voiding dysfunction, and spina bifida. She has special interest in reconstructive surgery and minimally invasive surgery. She takes special pride in getting to know her patients and their families, in order to provide individualized care and treatment options.

Dr. Ebbers completed her pediatric urology fellowship at University of California at San Francisco, and has been practicing exclusively in pediatric urology in a variety of settings since then. She is board certified in both urology and pediatric urology. She currently serves as medical director of St. Luke's Children's Urology.

SURGICAL SPECIALTIES

• Robotic partial nephrectomy
• Robotic nephrectomy
• Robotic uretero-ureterostomy
• Robotic pyeloplasty
• Robotic ureteral reimplantation
• Ureteral reimplantation
• Deflux
• Hypospadias repair
• Bladder augmentation
• MACE

Rachel Elledge, MSN, PNP-C is a board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric urology with interests in voiding dysfunction, dysfunctional voiding, neurogenic bladder, vesicoureteral reflux, and spina bifida. She manages the bowel and bladder clinic at the St. Luke’s Children’s Pavilion.

Rachel is passionate about providing evidence-based practice and ensuring that both the child and their parents feel supported and heard.

Rachel earner her master’s degree as a nurse practitioner from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and completed her undergraduate studies at Jacksonville University and Goldfarb School of Nursing. Prior to her work as a nurse practitioner, she has worked as a pediatric registered nurse (RN) in the ambulatory pediatric urology clinic as well as several other areas of pediatrics over the past 16 years.

In her free time, Rachel enjoys cycling, hiking, and spending time with husband and their four children.

Ilse Moreno, RDN, LD serves children in areas such as pediatric gastroenterology, enteral nutrition management, food allergies, and weight management as well as muscular dystrophy and spina bifida health and nutrition. Ilse utilizes a shared decision-making approach to create plans that works with patients’ and their families to help reach their nutrition and health goals. She places great emphasis on providing patients’ and their families with the support and resources needed to help them be successful.

Ilse earned her bachelor’s degree in nutrition/dietetics at the University of Idaho, where she also completed her dietetic internship.

In her free time, Ilse enjoys drinking a nice cup of coffee, relaxing with family and friends, taking her dog on walks, reading, and exercising.

Kara Saperston, MD is a board certified, fellowship trained pediatric urologist with expertise in minimally invasive and robotic surgery and the management of complex congenital anomalies and pediatric cancers of the kidneys, bladder, and external genitalia. She helped start the St. Luke's Children's Bowel and Bladder Clinic and will be helping initiate a multispecialty clinic to treat children born with complex genital anatomy. Her interests include treatment of hypospadias, urogenital sinus, posterior urethral valves, vesicoureteral reflux, undescended testicles, neurogenic bladder, bladder exstrophy, repair of a urogenital sinus, and urinary incontinence.

Dr. Saperston has a passion for patient care and initially worked in Boise as a general urologist with an interest in pediatric urology. She recently extended her training by completing a fellowship in pediatric urology at the University of California, San Francisco, so that she could care for pediatric patients exclusively.

SURGICAL SPECIALTIES

• Robotic partial nephrectomy
• Robotic nephrectomy
• Robotic uretero-ureterostomy
• Robotic pyeloplasty
• Robotic ureteral reimplantation
• Ureteral reimplantation
• Deflux
• Hypospadias repair
• Vaginoplasty/clitoroplasty
• Bladder augmentation
• MACE
• Laparoscopic MACE

Larry "Buzz" Showalter, MD is trained in all facets of children's orthopedic care including trauma and fractures; complex upper and lower extremity deformity; and neuromuscular, congenital, and other developmental disorders. He frequently manages conditions such as clubfoot, hip dysplasia, skeletal dysplasia, limb-length discrepancy, and growth plate injuries/arrests. His goal is to maximize quality of life for his patients.

Dr. Showalter has special interest in prevention of early onset hip osteoarthritis through improved diagnostics for developmental hip dysplasia.

Dr. Showalter serves as medical director for pediatric orthopedics at St. Luke's Children's. He is a member of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.

In his free time, Dr. Showalter enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and four grown sons. He loves to hike, camp, fly fish and play any competitive game.

Elizabeth Smith, NP specializes in the treatment of children and young adults with disabilities to optimize their function and improve their quality of life. She has experience treating a variety of complex conditions such as concussion, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, toe-walking, neuromuscular disorders, as well as spasticity management with Intrathecal Baclofen Pump procedures. She enjoys the collaborative nature of physical medicine and rehabilitation through working with a multidisciplinary team of therapists and providers. She is passionate about lifestyle medicine and enjoys educating and treating patients from a holistic perspective.

Elizabeth earned her bachelor's degree in public health from the University of Washington. She earned her nursing degree from Azusa Pacific University, followed by her master's degree in nursing and family nurse practitioner degree.

Outside of work, you can usually find Elizabeth spending time with her family, ideally outside in nature. She enjoys being active by doing Pilates, playing golf, cycling and snow skiing.

Cass R. Smith, MD is a pediatric gastroenterologist who sees a wide variety of pediatric patients. His areas of special interest include inflammatory bowel disease, diseases of the pancreas and liver, eosinophilic esophagitis, neurogenic bowel due to spina bifida, functional abdominal pain and constipation. He performs upper and lower endoscopy, including removal of polyps and control of bleeding, liver biopsies, removal of foreign bodies and care and maintenance of gastrostomy tubes. Dr. Smith asks for and respects input and decisions from children and their parents, supporting them in maintaining an active role in medical care.

At St. Luke's, Dr. Smith has helped lead numerous quality improvement initiatives, working to standardize pediatric gastrointestinal (GI) care. He is also committed to advancing the quality of care throughout Idaho. He travels to Idaho Falls regularly to offer clinic visits and endoscopy to patients in eastern Idaho.   

Dr. Smith completed his bachelor's degree in zoology at Brigham Young University. During medical school at the University of Nevada, Reno, he achieved special qualifications in nutrition and conducted research in natural killer and lymphokine-activated killer cell activity and antioxidants. He completed his residency in pediatrics at the combined University of Nebraska/Creighton University program and his fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.  

Jill Steinmetz, MPT specializes in acute care pediatric physical therapy and serves as the inpatient supervisor for Pediatric Rehabilitation in the Children’s Hospital. Jill specializes in pediatric oncology and works in a monthly multi-disciplinary clinic with patients who have spina bifida. 

Jill earned her bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport science from the University of Wyoming, and her master’s degree in physical therapy from the University of North Dakota. Jill received her Pediatric Specialty Certification in 2018. In her free time, Jill likes many outdoor activities including golfing and hiking. She also enjoys volunteering and leadership opportunities in her community. 

Favorite Book or Therapy Toy: Stomp Rocket 

Alexander Zouros, MD is board certified in pediatric and adult neurosurgery (ABPNS and ABNS) and is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He developed an interest in childhood brain and spine surgery in medical school, and has extensive research experience in pediatric spine trauma and instrumentation and has taught courses in complex brain endoscopy. He completed a fellowship at the Children's Medical Center of Dallas and has served as an associate professor at Loma Linda University. Dr. Zouros was also the residency program director at Loma Linda, training residents and medical students in neurological surgery and his pediatric subspecialty.

Dr. Zouros has volunteered on medical missions to the Middle East, bringing specialized pediatric neurosurgical services and cranio-facial reconstructive surgeries to underprivileged children.