2025 Health Care Champions Physician: Dr. Melissa Gaines

Whether it’s in her role as a physician at CoxHealth Advantage Care or as the health system’s director of hospice and palliative care, Dr. Melissa Gaines says compassionate, person-centered care is her driving concern.

A geriatrician and palliative care physician, Gaines largely provides health care services for older adults.

“I not only provide direct patient care to some of our most vulnerable individuals but also help shape how end-of-life and supportive care are delivered across our region,” says Gaines, who also serves as medical director for CoxHealth’s general inpatient hospice program. “I actively promote interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative care models, including operationalizing a newly approved Alzheimer’s anti-amyloid therapy in our health system – an effort that involves education, infrastructure building and thoughtful patient selection with an eye toward safety and equity.”

Gaines’ work includes leading efforts to transform care for older adults by developing a team-based cognitive care model for individuals with dementia and their caregivers, providing home visits for patients who are unable to travel to the clinic and offering intensive symptom management for patients who cannot safely manage their needs at home.

“My professional motivation is driven by a commitment to lead with excellence and transform the experience of aging through innovative, compassionate and patient-centered care,” Gaines says. “I am inspired by the opportunity to improve quality of life for older adults by advancing access to cutting-edge therapies, ensuring their voices are heard in medical decisions and addressing the complex emotional, physical and social dimensions of aging.

“Every initiative I lead is rooted in the belief that excellence in geriatrics requires both clinical innovation and deep human connection,” she says.

Gaines brings her passion for end-of-life care to the civic world, as well.

Currently serving as advisory committee chair for Hospice Foundation for Outreach Inc., Gaines assisted the nonprofit in its partnership with filmmaker and photographer Randy Bacon on a new documentary called “The Soft Surrender.”

Gaines says she helped recruit hospice care patients to speak in the documentary.

“One particularly meaningful interview featured a patient of mine with metastatic lung cancer who immigrated from South Korea,” Gaines says. “She shared, alongside me, her deeply personal decision to choose hospice. Her story highlighted cultural perspectives on care, trust in the health system and the universal human need for dignity and agency at the end of life.

“Sharing her experience helped expand awareness about hospice and made the film more inclusive and representative of the patients we serve.”