City of Aurora recognizes physician serving community
Sometimes when Dr. Sharon Ollée walks into an exam room to greet a new patient, they'll break down in tears - they've finally found a physician who looks like them.
"They have been looking for a black female physician," said Dr. Ollée, an internal medicine physician with Advocate Medical Group in Aurora who received a Women of Influence and Excellence Award recently from the city where she lives and practices.
"Some patients will even ask to hug me and say, 'I've been looking for so long.'"
City of Aurora officials presented the award to Dr. Ollée to mark the final days of Women's History Month and ahead of Doctor's Day.
7th Ward Alderman Scheketa Hart-Burns nominated Dr. Ollée, who is also her primary care physician. She was joined by the three other women who sit on the Aurora city council to present the award.
"I nominated Dr. Ollée not only for her hard work during the pandemic, but for the person she's been all the years I've known her and for all that she's given to this great community," Hart-Burns said.
"I am proud to receive this award," Dr. Ollée said. "I enjoy my work. The best part of my day is behind the doors of my exam rooms where I see patients. I love to educate, I love to learn more about my patients, their families and what makes them tick."
Dr. Ollée said it's an honor to care for any patient but she has a special interest in women's issues. During her 26 years of experience, she said she's recognized the additional trust and comfort that many women feel when they have a female provider - especially for women of color who see a doctor who looks like them. She said she often forms a bond with patients, who will continue to rely on her for primary care for many years, even driving long distances.
"I hope that to them I'm more than just their physician," she added. "I can be a listening friend ear as well."
Dr. Ollée said she also tries to mentor a new generation of female physicians. That includes her role on a selection committee for Florida-based nonprofit ScrubCaps for a Cause.
She said she's excited for the future when it comes to women in medicine. "To see medical school classes are now becoming half women compared to when I was in school - that's so important."
Dr. Ollée, 54, grew up in London, but came to the United States as a teen. She graduated from the University of Washington, the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical School and completed her residency at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Hospital. She has lived in Aurora for 27 years with her husband and their two college-aged children.