NorthShore Employee Spotlight: Dr. Jennifer Lee Murphy

Obstetrician gynecologist (OB/GYN) Dr. Jennifer Lee Murphy, MD, has served the Northwest Indiana area for the last two decades. Murphy served as a founding member of the Valparaiso women’s health center, Obstetrical & Gynecological Associates (OGA) before its merger with NorthShore Health in 2024. Throughout her time as a physician, Murphy has held tight to her desire to uplift women through building understanding between herself and her patients.

Murphy began her medical studies at Emory University, where she majored in biology. Additionally, she pursued a minor in religion, focusing on the history of women and their influence in religious groups. Her time with women’s studies helped her to narrow down her medical focus, eventually settling on women’s reproductive health.

In 1995, Murphy obtained her bachelor’s degree from Emory, moving next to the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. She graduated in 1999, entering formal medical training with Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago the same year. She began practicing as an OB/GYN in 2003.

Following her residency, Murphy was appointed to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. She remained with the hospital for two years before she married and moved to Northwest Indiana. There, she served as a physician with Franciscan Health Crown Point.

In 2008, while running a small practice in Crown Point, Murphy received the opportunity to get involved with a new OB/GYN practice: a joint effort that would become OGA.

“I ran into Dr. Strickland while shopping at a local store, and she said, ‘We need somebody for this.’ I said, ‘Well, maybe,’ but Valparaiso was closer, and the practice I had in Crown Point was a startup business,” Murphy said. “At that startup practice, I was not very busy, which made me nervous as a young person. I wanted to be busy right away.”

Murphy made the decision to join as a partner with OGA, starting in July 2008.

“Joining OGA in 2008 made me very, very busy,” Murphy said.

While time with OGA kept her schedule full, Murphy continued to explore a wide range of medical practices, leading her to the field of integrative health.

“It’s funny when you’re doing something for a long time because after a while, you’re like, ‘God, what else is out there?’” Murphy said. “So I got interested in looking at the root cause of people’s health, not just treating the symptoms.”

Through her work in this area, she received certification from the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine, allowing her to practice a more well-rounded approach to hormone replacement therapy for both peri-menopausal and menopausal women. In recent years, she has begun to focus more on certifications for anti-aging medicine, shifting with the needs of her patients.

“I’m aging with my patients,” Murphy said. “I have a lot of women who are looking to age gracefully. I see them looking for longevity, anti-aging, and hormone therapy—it’s a constant expansion of knowledge.”

Murphy’s focus on staying updated with the latest OB/GYN practices has set both her and OGA apart, creating a space that has combined multiple facets of medicine to create a unique environment centered on women’s health. OGA’s role as a practice in Valparaiso allowed it to begin work with NorthShore Health in the early 2020s.

“We were moonlighting for them because there was a lot of turnover in the department for OB/GYN,” Murphy said. “That’s how I got to know NorthShore as a company. Getting to know them and then deciding to merge with them was a decision that was for sure good in the long run.”

For 16 years, Murphy served as both a medical provider and a business owner, having to split time between the distinct responsibilities necessitated by each role. Now, following NorthShore’s acquisition of the practice, Murphy has found respite in her singular role as a physician.

“I really enjoyed the business aspect of it. In the end, it helps you understand the business of medicine and makes you a better physician,” Murphy said. “Being a part of NorthShore now, I actually appreciate the fact that I can just be a doctor and not worry about the overhead. I trust the CEO and CFO.”

Outside of Murphy’s work as a medical provider, she worked in 2016 to found the MOMentum 5K, a Mother’s Day weekend charity walk/run that contributes proceeds to charities working with women and children in the community. In the past, it has contributed to Emma’s Footprints, the Sojourner Truth House, and the American Association of University Women Valparaiso branch, among others.

In her free time, Murphy enjoys keeping active, recently picking up pickleball and working towards certification as a pilates instructor.

Throughout her time in the medical field, Murphy has found a lot of her support from those she works with. She points to their unique dynamic as a big reason for OGA’s success as a medical facility.

“I actually really appreciate the camaraderie I have with my group. If you look at Porter County and the group we have, it’s a really strong group. I believe they have provided stability in the region for women,” Murphy said. “There is no other space where you’re going to find the kind of support you have with our group and with Porter County and Northwest Health and NorthShore.”

If you would like more information about OGA, you can visit this page. You can schedule an appointment with Dr. Murphy by visiting this page.

To learn more about NorthShore Health, you can visit northshorehealth.org.