Penny Larson

Dr. Penny Larson was born and raised in Yuba City, California. She grew up in an athletic family, waterskiing and playing tennis. She attended the University of California at Davis (UCD), played on the Women’s Tennis Team, and graduated with a double major in Chemical and Civil Engineering. She worked several years as an engineer in Los Angeles before returning to medical school at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

She accepted a health professions scholarship from the United States Army and completed her OB/GYN residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. She is a proud veteran who was on active-duty September 11, 2001, having served a total of 12 years, both individual ready reserve and active duty.

Dr. Larson returned with her four children to the Sacramento area in 2006 and has been providing OB/GYN care since that time. It was at that time that she met Drs. Bob and Melchione while working at the old Sutter Memorial on F Street. She was always happy to know when they were also on call, knowing that they held the same core values: care for patients as if they were family.

She joined Capital OB/GYN in December 2023 and is happy to be able to provide compassionate care to our rich, culturally diverse population. She seeks to be a partner to both younger and older women negotiating their female health journeys. Dr. Larson is passionate about helping her patients to have long health spans, as well as long lifespans, through thoughtful choices about each woman’s unique situation. She often prefaces her first interaction with a patient by saying: “I think of myself as an artist, and you are my subject. I am going to create your portrait as I get to know you better, starting out with charcoal and filling in with watercolor.”

She adores her pets: April, a Shih Tzu mix; Handsome, a Maine Coon cat; and Sister Ruth, a pure black kitten she found camping. In her free time, Dr. Larson enjoys hiking, skiing, baking sourdough bread, gardening, attending live music and theater, and long conversations over good food!