Dr. Ava Lee is the latest addition to By the Bay Health’s team of dedicated hospice physicians. She studied medicine at Tufts Medical School in Boston and completed her residency in Family Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital, with a focus on underserved populations. She continued her practice in SF community clinics, including St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic in the Tenderloin.
It was during her subsequent work at the SFVA nursing home that she recognized a personal need to be better equipped to help those patients who were facing end-of-life challenges. That desire led her to complete a fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the Palo Alto VA, followed by 14 years at Kaiser Permanente, predominantly with the inpatient palliative care consult team.
Her arrival at By the Bay Health grew from a desire to return to hospice work with a smaller, more focused agency, and was precipitated by her meeting Dr. Jessica Keane through a mutual colleague.
Dr. Lee says, “I have found By the Bay Health to be a forward-thinking organization with an outlook of optimism and positivity in everything they do. I am quite honored to be here.” She adds that, “I have also been a patient in a hospital bed, completely dependent on others for care, and that experience informs me in how I now care for patients and their families, and how I work with the care team.”
Dr. Lee grew up in Silicon Valley “back when the cherry and apricot orchards were still around” and married her high school sweetheart during her undergraduate work at UC Berkeley. The couple now has two adult children and five grandchildren. When not working she enjoys gardening, hiking, bike-riding, and spending time with her large, close-knit family.