LEADERSHIP
Dr . Lenora
Infectious disease specialist lee
Kaiser Permanente by Graham Womack
Dr . Lenora Lee , an infectious disease specialist at Kaiser Permanente Sacramento and Roseville for the past seven years , has made the most of working through the coronavirus pandemic . With activities like seeing patients in person , on video , and by phone and regularly posting information for the public on Facebook and Instagram , Lee has been drawing notice with her hard work , including being named the 2020 Metro EDGE Young Professional of the Year for the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce ’ s annual business awards .
With COVID-19 case counts and deaths decreasing in the United States over the past few months as vaccines have become widely available , Lee , 40 , says her work has been rewarding . “ There ’ s been a mix of emotions , I would say . Now that things have calmed down and I can look back and we could say that as a specialty , we really helped lead Kaiser . … That has definitely been very rewarding .”
The work has been intense at times , such as the early , uncertain days of the pandemic in April 2020 and during a summer spike in cases in July 2020 . She received 200 phone messages a day and also worked after hours participating in phone calls for all of Kaiser ’ s regional infectious disease specialists in Northern California .
She also began posting on her personal Facebook and Instagram accounts on social media after noticing confusion from friends , family and even coworkers about the coronavirus . “ I really like helping people . … It seems very cliche , but it also demonstrates why I went into infectious diseases , which is all about helping colleagues and , obviously , our patients ,” Lee says .
For Lee , a Sacramento native , working in the field of infectious diseases is something she was seemingly born to do : Lee ’ s father , Dr . Kenneth Lee , had a 32-year career in the same specialty for Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento and Roseville , retiring in 2011 . After attending Cornell University to earn her bachelor ’ s degree in biology and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York for her M . D ., Lee returned to the Capital Region to do her medical residency and fellowship at UC Davis School of Medicine . “ It ’ s just been in my blood , I guess , since I was really young ,” she says .
Lee is optimistic that the pandemic will eventually be controlled , though lagging vaccination rates and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’ s easing of mask-wearing requirements in public places have her worried about a summer spike in cases . In the meantime , she ’ ll keep fighting the good fight : “ I think the silver lining is , during unprecedented times … you ’ re surrounded by great people that want to help and collaborate and come up with new processes and new plans .”
MURAL ARTIST UNKNOWN
48 comstocksmag . com | July 2021