Gastroenterology Center
Paul Levy, MD 
Dr. Levy is a board-certified gastroenterologist from Clyde, NC and has been practicing gastroenterology for more than 30 years. He has expertise in many endoscopic procedures including colonoscopy, upper endoscopy and other advanced procedures. He also has broad clinical experience in hepatology and chronic hepatitis treatments. His personal interest include hiking, biking, tennis, cooking and traveling.
Mohammed Magdy, MD
Mohammed Magdy, MD is an advanced gastroenterologist and therapeutic endoscopist at the Gastroenterology Center at Valley View. He is board certified and fellowship trained in gastroenterology and brings vast clinical, teaching and research experience to the Center.
A leader in his field and an expert in digestive health, Dr. Magdy specializes in endoscopic and rectal ultrasound, EUS celiac block, peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM), gastric peroral endoscopic myotomy (GPOEM), EGD Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), coloscopy endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), enteroscopy, and more.
Dr. Magdy attended medical school at Cairo University in Egypt and completed residency training in internal medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Akron, OH. He then went on to pursue advanced training in two, impressive fellowship programs; gastroenterology at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC and interventional endoscopy at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
Dr. Magdy values his relationships with patients. His compassionate approach to care focuses on each individual patient and he looks forward to creating meaningful relationships with his patients in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Muhammad Naeem, MD
Dr. Naeem is a board-certified gastroenterologist, completing his fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Naeem treats patients with all types of GI issues. He believes that the GI tract is a mirror of overall health. Dr. Naeem has a special interest in Diagnostic and Therapeutic Endoscopy and ERCP, Motility Studies, and pH Bravo interpretation.
Ross Sage, MD
Dr. Sage is a board-certified gastroenterologist who believes in treating every patient as if they were family. He currently sees patients in the Glenwood Springs region for a myriad of general GI conditions, acute and chronic pancreatitis and IBD to name a few. He performs general GI procedures and is specially trained in ERCP.
Dr. Sage completed his medical education at the Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, and his residency training at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. He completed two additional fellowships in hepatology at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, and in gastroenterology at Beaumont Health System in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Outside of his medical practice, he strives to be the best husband and dad that he can be.
Kristen Munks, PA-C 
Kristen Munks, MMS, PA-C is an advanced practice provider with the Gastroenterology Center at Valley View. She attained her Master’s Degree in Medical Science from Saint Frances University in 2015, and before joining the Valley View family she worked as a primary care provider in Oregon for five years.
Kristen initially came to the Roaring Fork Valley for a few rotations while in PA school and quickly fell in love with our community’s unique offerings. “I enjoy spending time outside, taking time for my mind to focus and recharge,” she says.
Having worked in larger clinical environments through much of her career, Kristen enjoys the collegiate nature of practicing in a close community. “I appreciate the time I am able to spend with my patients to get to know them and their history. With this, we are able to work together to implement the best treatment plan.”
“I have always been interested in GI,” she continues, “and staying informed to better assist my patients is a huge motivator to continue growing. I value reading across many topics, and my current position feeds my desire to learn while giving me the chance to provide the best care for my patients.”
In her spare time, Kristen engages in a particular creative passion: pottery. “I like to focus on functional things- primarily mugs and bowls, items that people can integrate into their everyday lives,” she says. “I had a garage studio in Portland, and hope to set one up locally as well.
Katie Puening, NP
Katie Puening works as a nurse practitioner on Valley View’s Palliative Care team. She is a licensed Adult and Geriatric Nurse Practitioner with experience in chronic disease management, cardiology, and oncology. Recently, Katie has attained her Doctorate of Nursing Practice from the University of Colorado in December of 2021. “My focus is in improving patient care not from a data perspective,” she says, “but through looking at the whole person and individual care.”
Katie spent a large part of her career working in Chicago and Denver, two large metropolitan areas that make patient connection a challenge. “One of the things I love about my current job is the connection I get to make,” she says. “In a large hospital system, you rarely see the same patients twice. Here those patients are a part of the community, just like I am.”
I’m from the Midwest originally, so this environment is much more my speed. It’s a really pleasant change.”
As a palliative care nurse, Katie gets many opportunities to connect with her patients. “I love getting to know them on a very individual level,” she says. “I have a lot of opportunities to learn who they are and align that with the treatment regimen we utilize with them. Again, living in such a small community where connection is easier makes that relationship so much more intimate and productive.”
Thanks to her educational path, Katie hasn’t had a ton of time for recreation lately. “Quality of life and work balance are very important to me but finishing up a doctoral program has definitely taken over to some extent,” she says. Not to say she hasn’t indulged her hobbies at all—Katie spends her precious spare time spinning her own yarn out of Colorado wool, and then knitting that yarn into her own creations.
“I think my patients have taught me that you have to latch on to those things which bring you joy, and keep those things central in your life,” she says. “Weaving, knitting and spinning represent joy to me, and as such I’ve made time for them even in the midst of a very busy time.”
Rachel Weaver Conklin, MMS, PA-C
Rachel Weaver Conklin, MMS, PA-C, is an advanced practice provider with the Gastroenterology Center at Valley View. She comes to Valley View most recently from academia, serving as faculty and working in clinical practice at Vanderbilt School of Medicine and its University Medical Center in Nashville.
Along with clinical practice, research and teaching, she has a deep background and training in cancer care and is an enthusiastic advocate for colorectal cancer screenings. “I’m inspired to do my part to make sure we have a strong screening rate in Glenwood and the region. I’m also excited to build a robust outpatient clinical practice, to meet the needs of all GI patients and support the physicians.”
Although Rachel is a new permanent resident of the Roaring Fork Valley, she and husband Dr. David Conklin are very familiar with the area, having regularly visited many of his extended family who live here. Dr. Conklin is new in his role as a psychiatrist at the Glenwood headquarters of Mind Springs Health. The couple are parents to two young children, and in their off time they enjoy hiking, skiing and live music.
Gastroenterology Center
Valley View Hospital | 1830 Blake Ave, Suite 202 | Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 | 970.384.7510