Health Care Providers in Nampa Care Deeply for the Community

Saint Alphonsus Medical Center

The medical professionals who live and work in Nampa, ID, love calling this area home and take satisfaction in serving the health care needs of their friends and neighbors. Lets get to know two of these health care providers in Nampa.

Dr. Rob Buxton 

Family physician Dr. Rob Buxton has practiced at Nampa’s Saint Alphonsus Medical Center since 2011. He already had a career in the medical products field and was married with four children when he entered medical school. “It was a big undertaking,” he says, noting their fifth child was born while he was in school. “My accomplishment is really my family’s accomplishment.” 

Saint Alphonsus is part of the same system, Trinity Health, as Buxton’s residency program in Iowa. “They are a nonprofit hospital, and that is important to me,” he says. “The fact that I can do more for the underserved population in the area makes me feel good.” 

A longtime family medicine provider here who became Buxton’s mentor impressed upon him the importance of living in the area where he practiced. “That was profound for me. I feel like part of the community, rather than an outsider coming in. It’s been a great way to be connected with the people I serve.” 

He says, “Quality of life is pretty high on my list. I don’t spend my time commuting – I’m home in about five minutes.” He can have his boat in the nearby lake in time to enjoy the sunset with his family or spend time playing bluegrass guitar. Nearby Boise offers opportunities for concerts and a lively restaurant scene, and ski resorts are accessible for day or weekend trips. 

Buxton says he loves to treat families in his practice. “Patient continuity is really important, getting to know their families. It gives me greater insight into what is affecting them in their home life, what their social and economic background is, what their needs are.” 

The variety he sees in his practice keeps it interesting. “I sometimes sit back and think, today I treated somebody with a headache disorder, somebody with low back pain, somebody with diabetes, somebody who had significant mental status change and somebody hospitalized due to sepsis. It’s a huge spectrum,” he says. “None of those are related from a conceptual standpoint, but it all kind of fits and flows into who a person is, treating that whole person.” 

Dr. Jesse Keeler 

Dr. Jesse Keeler is a primary care physician and hospitalist at St. Luke’s Health System in Nampa. “I practice hybrid internal medicine, meaning I care for a panel of adult patients in the Greenhurst clinic as their primary care physician, but I also work shifts at the hospital seeing adult patients admitted for various acute medical conditions.” 

Keeler first came to Nampa to attend Northwest Nazarene University. After medical school in Southern California, he returned to Boise for his internal medicine residency, and now he and his family make Nampa their home. 

“The Treasure Valley is a growing and thriving community, and Nampa is at the heart of it,” he says. “My wife and I love raising our family here. Living and practicing medicine in Nampa has been a perfect fit.” The suburban environment with safe schools and parks still affords access to restaurants and entertainment, as well as easy travel through the Boise Airport. 

“Living in a spot that experiences all four seasons allows us to stay active in different sports and hobbies year-round,” he says, from biking on the greenbelt, enjoying camping, hiking and more. “In the heat of summer, we cool off at local parks with splash pads, and in the fall, we head to the [Lowe Family] Farmstead pumpkin patch.” 

During his medical training, Keeler rotated through many locations and different patient populations. “There is a lot to learn about the patients themselves,” he says, “their past that informs their current health, home life and care preferences. In the last year of my training, the pieces started coming together, and I began experiencing the great satisfaction of caring for patients with whom I had developed a deep connection.” 

He says, “The best part of my job is partnering with my patients through thick and thin. I love that primary care allows me to care for the whole person – body, mind and soul.”