As we wrap up #WomenInMedicineMonth we want to highlight a few of our board members, starting with Sheryl Morelli:
WCAAP is grateful to have Dr. Sheryl A. Morelli serving on our Board of Trustees. She is a general pediatrician at UW Primary Care in Kent/DesMoines, Chief Medical Officer for Seattle Children’s Care Network, and Chief of Community Pediatrics for Seattle Children’s. Born and raised along with four siblings in Steubenville, Ohio, Dr. Morelli’s parents were both health care providers (dad was an MD, mother an RN). She attended public college and medical school in Ohio and today lives on the eastside of Seattle with her husband, two teen daughters and one “very spunky wire-hair fox terrier.”
“Working in my father’s medical practice with him and my mother inspired me to pursue a career in medicine,” says Dr. Morelli, explaining that she chose pediatrics for the incredible potential/opportunity to both prevent and cure disease. She adds: “Plus I love dermatology and infectious disease which are bountiful in pediatrics.” Her current interests include improving behavioral/mental health for pediatric populations and their families as well as transforming pediatric models of care including the payment mechanisms which support them.
Dr. Morelli has been an instrumental partner in WCAAP’s practice transformation and advocacy efforts, and shares that she most values the relationships she has formed with colleagues through the WCAAP as well as the opportunity to participate in advocacy efforts locally, regionally and state-wide.
Who – or what – inspires Dr. Morelli to do this work? “Honestly, I am the most inspired by my patients with complex medical conditions and their caregivers as well as our community pediatricians who spend countless hours outside of their already very busy and stressful practices advocating for the children, youth and families in our state,” she says.
When she’s not caring for kids or working to improve Washington’s health care system, you’ll find Dr. Morelli spending time with her family, reading the latest in historical fiction, hiking, heading to a beach, or riding her spin bike – fuelled by Caffe D’arte coffee (in case you are wondering how she does it all!)