Get to know: Beverly Joyce

Dr. Beverly Joyce is the Board Chair at Sequoia Hospital Foundation in Redwood City, California. She has served on the board for the past eight years and is the long-time Co-Chair of the foundation’s annual Steven San Filippo Memorial Golf Tournament.

Dr. Joyce has been a practicing OB-GYN physician for almost 30 years, the last 24 at Sequoia Hospital, where she has delivered close to 3,000 babies. During this time, she served as Chair of the OB-GYN department for eight years. After stopping delivering babies in 2019, Dr. Joyce began focusing her practice on gynecologic surgery and menopause. She spearheaded the Physician Wellness Committee at Sequoia and in 2020 started a side business as a coach for women physicians.
 
In her spare time, Dr. Joyce loves to play golf and has been a four-time champion at her club, Green Hills, in Millbrae, California. She is married to Paul Fielder, a leader in the science and biotechnology company, Genentech/Roche. They have two adult children, ages 24 and 21, along with a tortoise and a snake. You will find both of them on the golf course most weekends and during the week whenever they have a free day. 

What was your first connection to the hospital and foundation?
I began practicing at Sequoia in 1999 after the birth of my son. I joined Women’s Care Medical Group and have been with the practice to this day. Soon after starting, I learned of the foundation’s annual golf tournament and immediately signed up to play. Through the tournament, I met several of the foundation’s members and supporters and learned about all the amazing things the foundation does. 

How did you come to serve on the foundation board?
The foundation leadership asked if I would be interested in being Co-Chair of the golf tournament, and of course, I said ‘yes’. I also had the privilege of delivering the baby of the then-Chairman of the Board, Steve SanFilippo, and his wife, Julie. It was Steve who asked if I would like to serve on the board. 

What have you learned as a result of your board service and connection to the hospital?
The foundation plays a critical role in connecting the local community to the hospital through its many programs. Grateful patients and families have ample opportunity to show their appreciation for the wonderful care they’ve received from the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff over the years. Many donors feel like they are part of a large Sequoia family. The foundation has supported Sequoia Hospital’s growth and expansion, and the development of cutting-edge procedures and technology that might otherwise not have been possible without the generous donations it brings in. It has also funded small projects, for example, strong and protective footwear for our environmental services employees, and a traveling “new mom” cart with all sorts of goodies for the postpartum patients on the Labor and Delivery floor. These small but meaningful gifts are just as important as the multi-million dollar campaigns. The funding of the Kennett Nursing Scholarship program is another example of how the foundation can make a huge impact on the lives of nurses. 

What role does gratitude play in your philanthropy and service?
I recognize the family spirit at Sequoia Hospital, and I am grateful that I get to be a part of it. When I first drove by Sequoia Hospital, back in the 1990s, I said to myself “I want to work there.” And then I was lucky enough to have the opportunity. I am grateful to have played a part in so many joyous birthdays in the families I have taken care of. And now I am grateful to have the opportunity to help physicians who are burned out or discontent find meaning and satisfaction again in their lives, particularly after the brutal past three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

What excites you the most about the next five years for the foundation and hospital?
I know that over the next five years, Sequoia has the opportunity to become a center of excellence in many specialties. We already have an outstanding cardiovascular program, orthopedic and joint replacement program, and our Birth Center continues to be a favorite among families up and down the peninsula, not because of the facility itself, but because of the caring people. As Sequoia expands its network, and with the help of the foundation, we will have a growing presence in Women’s Health, Cancer Care, and Primary Care, and Sequoia will be the hospital everyone wants to go to!