meet our professionals
Acorn Pediatrics was started out of a desire to provide high quality medical care for children and teens in the Gallatin Valley and the surrounding region. We are strongly committed to providing this care in a small practice setting, which allows us to give not only great care, but also great service. Thank you for taking your time to learn more about our practice. We hope to have the opportunity to care for your child.
staff
Leslie McCleary
Lisa Oberle
Amy Allen
Leila Bost
Hailey Williams
Aimee Combs, MA
Kathy Rogers, MA
Julia Baltz, MA
Amy Staples, MA
Brandi McWalter, LPN
Geneva Behr, RN
Susan M Daniels, MD
Dr Daniels is proud to be Co-founder of Acorn Pediatrics. Along with Dr Idzerda, and all of the staff at Acorn Pediatrics, she is committed to providing the best care for children and adolescents in the Gallatin Valley and the surrounding area. She enjoys working with parents to help care for kids of all ages.
Dr Daniels was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota. She completed medical school and pediatric residency training at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. After practicing pediatrics in Minnesota for five years, she and her husband and two young children moved to Bozeman to live closer to family. In 2009, out of a desire to create a small practice to provide excellent care and service, Acorn Pediatrics was born!
Dr Daniels enjoys involvement with the American Academy of Pediatrics and is the Coordinator of the Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) Program for the State of Montana. When away from the office, she loves spending time with her husband, son and daughter, as well as her parents and brothers who live near by. She also loves skiing, hiking, knitting, gardening, fly-fishing, photography, baking bread, and looking after her dogs, chickens, horses and cat.
Sheila M Idzerda, MD
Dr Idzerda is delighted to be Co-founder of Acorn Pediatrics. She is pleased to provide primary and specialty care for children and teenagers. One of the joys of her practice is to be a part of a child's life as they grow and develop.
She was born and raised in Maryland. She completed medical school at George Washington University, and completed internship and residency at Children's National Medical Center, all in Washington, DC. She worked in a small pediatric practice in Maryland for 9 years before moving to Montana in 2000. She greatly enjoys the small practice setting and the personal service it provides to patients and families.
She currently serves as the Vice-President of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She is involved in education for medical and nurse-practitioner students training in Bozeman. In addition, she is the Medical Director of the Pediatric Advanced Life Support course that trains health care providers in the emergency care of children.
Her biggest support is her family - her husband and three daughters. They enjoy participating in choir at church, skiing and hiking together. She is an eternal student - studying harp, TaeKwonDo and French.
Kathryn M Lowe, MD
Dr Lowe is pleased to be part of Acorn Pediatrics and to have the opportunity to serve the healthcare needs of children in Bozeman and the surrounding area. She is originally from Grand Forks, North Dakota. After attending Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, she served in the Peace Corps for two years in rural Bolivia. She attended medical school at the University of Connecticut where she met her husband. They moved to Portland, Maine, where she completed her pediatric residency training. She continued to pursue opportunities to work in healthcare settings in various developing countries during medical school and residency.
In 2008, she and her husband and son moved to Bozeman to be near family.
She enjoys using her experience abroad and her Spanish fluency to help provide medical care to Spanish-speaking families, and to those who are planning trips to other countries. Aside from practicing pediatrics, she enjoys exploring the beautiful Gallatin Valley with her family through hiking, camping, biking, and running. She also enjoys playing the piano and cooking. She looks forward to partnering with parents to work for the health and benefit of children.
Christine R. Hodgson,
RN, MSN, PNP-C
Christine Hodgson is very excited to work at Acorn Pediatrics, as the first PNP in a pediatric practice in Bozeman! You may wonder what a PNP (Pediatric Nurse Practitioner) is…
PNPs are specially trained RNs who provide health care for well and ill children of all ages. They perform well-child visits including immunizations, sports physicals, diagnose and treat common childhood illnesses, and collaborate with doctors and other health professionals to enhance the health of children.
Christine received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Michigan and her master’s degree in nursing from the University of California San Francisco. She worked as an RN in a pediatric intensive care unit for three years, and then as a PNP in a private practice in northern California for four years. She moved here with her husband and growing family in 2003 and has worked as an adjunct assistant professor at the College of Nursing at MSU.
She has a wonderful husband and three busy, young boys. Bozeman is the perfect place for her as she loves to ski, mountain bike, fly-fish and read. She is thrilled to return to her passion of providing primary care for children.
Leslie McCleary ... Office Manager
Ms. McCleary is excited to be a member of the Acorn Pediatrics team as Office Manager. Along with other staff members, she is committed to provide the best care for kids. Her knowledge of children, books and reading aids her as she coordinates our Reach Out and Read Program that allows each child between 6 months and 5 years to bring home a book after well-child visits.
She was born in Illinois, and moved to Costa Rica at age 5. After that, her family lived in Bolivia for 12 years, where she became fluent in Spanish and relished playing in the jungle.
She graduated from Florida Southern College and embarked on a career of working with people in retail management and training. For the past 13 years, she has worked in businesses that catered to children and young adults. Through business, she has been fortunate to live in many culturally diverse cities such as Miami, Dallas, and New York where speaking Spanish came in handy. Top of her list of favorite things to do is travel. Combine that with books and it’s heaven for this bibliophile!
choose Acorn Pediatrics for:
quality
Acorn Pediatrics physicians are Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.
They are skilled in general pediatrics, as well as many areas of specialty pediatric care.
They also provide hospital care to infants and children, and are certified by the Pediatric
Advanced Life Support and Neonatal Resuscitation Programs. Our experienced Certified
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner holds a Master's degree and has advanced pediatric training.
extended hours
Acorn Pediatrics offers the most extended hours for care by a pediatrician in the Bozeman
area. If emergencies arise outside of our extended office hours, one of the doctors from
Acorn Pediatrics is on call to help 24 hours a day.
mon - thurs: 7:00 AM - 7:30PM
friday: 7:00 AM - 5:30 PM
saturday: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
convenience
Acorn Pediatrics offers same day sick appointments, and well child check-ups during
daytime and evening hours.
caring
Acorn Pediatrics providers and staff are committed to deliver the highest level of healthcare,
along with friendly service and support for you and your family.
participation
Acorn Pediatrics accepts most major insurance providers.
