Bethany Lipa, M.D., was born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York with her five siblings. After her father's passing, she spent almost every weekend with her Grandma and Grandpa Lipa who taught her play piano, garden and polka dance. At the age of five, she vividly recalls confiding in her grandmother that she planned to become an artist (specifically, a painter). Her career-focused, very practical grandmother convinced her that she could become both an artist and a doctor.
After graduating high school at the top of her class, she completed her undergraduate studies at SUNY Geneseo where she majored in biochemistry, and studied classical and Irish violin performance and mathematics. During undergraduate school, she held down 3-4 part time jobs including teaching violin, working as an on-campus home health aide, hospice worker at the Teresa House, an EMT critical care technician and a 911 dispatcher. Her time spent working as a home health aide to a friend with muscular dystrophy, and caring for patients in hospice, taught her compassion and gratitude. She decided to pursue medicine.
She graduated summa cum laude from college and attended medical school at the University of Buffalo where she discovered the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R). Her mentor, Dr. Thomas Polisoto, made such an impact that she finalized her decision to specialize in rehabilitation medicine during her second year of medical school.
Dr. Lipa graduated from PM&R residency program at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in 2011, just one week prior to having her first child. She then moved to California with a 3-week-old son, and completed a two-year fellowship in neuromuscular and electrodiagnostic medicine at UC Davis Medical Center and Shriners Children's Northern California. She fell in love with Shriners Children's and their mission while completing her training in Northern California. When a position became available in Philadelphia, she jumped at the opportunity. She has been on staff at Shriners Children's Philadelphia since October of 2013 and loves working with her patients and their families. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, painting/illustrating and dancing.
