Spotlight on Joy: A Conversation with Sara McGinnis Lee of Mercy

Vice President of Mission and Clinical Integration at Mercy Board Member, The Coalition for Physician & APP Well-Being

A Calling Shaped by Faith

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what brought you to physician/APP well-being.

As a mission leader in Catholic healthcare for over 15 years, there are some basic concepts that align with well-being: first, the inherent dignity of every person as made in the image and likeness of God, and second, that we are made for relationship and community with one another. Therefore, anyone delivering healthcare is essential to our ministry, and their flourishing matters deeply. The healing ministry of Jesus is brought to life in physician/APP relationships when they themselves are grounded, healthy, and present to the team, patient and God. I experience this in my own and my family’s healthcare, and I hear and see it around me in my work.

It Takes a Village

Has there been a figure or experience in your life that compelled you to become a part of the well-being conversation?

It has been a ten year process of listening deeply to physicians and APPs to understand their distinct experience and practice. Dr. Mary Jo Lewis told me that physicians are both the same as everyone else and different than others. Dr. Curt Ward taught me that physicians are trained to always be the leader, the one who holds the responsibility, and any kind of vacuum of that means they feel compelled to lean in, both for good and for their detriment.

Morning Reflection at the 2025 Joy & Wholeness Summit in Asheville, NC.

Dr. Ray Weick helped me understand that we in mission need to always start with caring deeply about the clinician’s lived experience of burnout and wellbeing, before trying to talk about ministry concepts, meaning, or mission.Dr. Karthik Iyer, Dr. Auyushman Misra and Dr. Chandra Dommaraju co-led with our local hospital leadership team every day of the COVID crisis, reporting out, discerning difficult decisions, and being a vital link to their colleagues and care teams – they are models of servant leadership I will never forget. Dr. Bassam Hadi imprinted with me an awareness that any physician choosing a meeting with me, or for the purpose of furthering mission culture, was sacrificing time rounding on patients or family time, and so to always bring value. Dr. Jeff Ciaramita and many of our physician presidents and CMOs in Mercy have humbled me in their willingness to partner in trust to further well-being together. Dr. Laurie Orme, Dr. Misty Hsieh, Dr. Jen York, Dr. Lisa Newton, Celeste Williams and so many others show me constantly what is possible when we have thriving physicians & APPs who serve with a heart for mission. These and many more motivate me to continue to seek interdisciplinary support, organizational improvements and spaces for community to further well-being.

Trusting the Process

What is one project or initiative you’ve been a part of that has made a positive impact in your healthcare circles? What were some of the challenges you had to overcome?

Developing a structure for physician & APP leaders in well-being and mission culture in Mercy has provided clear venues for physician/APPs to collaborate in furthering organizational commitments to wellness, building bridges between organizational tools to improve practice efficiency  and the practitioners who adopt them, and sharing of personal experiences of community, reflection, and appreciation. My privilege has been to utilize my organizational understanding to establish frameworks, role descriptions, & committee charters; to connect key stakeholders, guide communications, and coach emerging leaders. The challenge, as always in healthcare, is constant change – organizational and within roles.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

What sentiment would you like to leave for those looking to enter the conversation on well-being?

I have become convinced that physician & APP well-being is as complex as the work of quality in healthcare. There are organizational, team, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors that strengthen or detract from the experience of wellbeing or burnout. It truly takes all of us in healthcare working together to educate ourselves, becoming aware of what is necessary to improve conditions, and caring deeply for every member of the care team to further the vision of joy, wholeness and community in medicine – which in turn, brings about compassionate, exceptional care for every patient. It’s a wild and totally worth it ride!

Coalition Board of Directors and Staff at the 2025 Joy & Wholeness Summit in Asheville, North Carolina.