Dr. Anthony Whittemore ’62, chief medical officer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has been awarded the Martin William Souders Award, awarded annually to a graduate of a New England Independent School who made a distinguished record in sports and who has since made a distinguished record in life through his ideals, leadership and accomplishments. The award was established in 1967 in memory of Martin William Souders, Director of Physical Education at Milton Academy, 1919-1929, and at Phillips Exeter Academy, 1930-1962 and the first President of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.
Whittemore was an excellent three sport athlete at The Governor’s Academy who won letters in soccer, hockey and lacrosse. He also sang in the Glee Club and in a musical trio; was the managing editor of the school yearbook; was elected senior class president; and at Commencement, was awarded the Morse Flag, emblematic of the school’s highest award.
Whittemore cites the structure of the Academy as providing a foundation for him in the wake of his father’s sudden death shortly after he matriculated in Byfield. The tragic death of his brother, who was also a student at the Academy, two years later was the impetus for him to gravitate toward medicine as a way to understand human disease and try to contribute to its treatment.
After graduating from Trinity College as a pre-med major, he matriculated at Columbia University Medical School where he earned his MD. He did his surgical residence at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and was drafted n 1972. He served in the US Navy as Chief of Vascular Surgery for the Sixth Fleet at the Naval Regional Medical Center in Portsmouth Virginia. He joined the Brigham and Women’s Hospital medical staff in 1976 and eventually was named the Director of Surgical Residency Training and later the Chief of Vascular Surgery.
During this period, he also received an appointment as Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. In 1999, he was named Chief Medical Officer at Brigham and Women’s. During his tenure he has initiated a number of hospital-wide programs that have made Brigham and Women’s a national leader in patient safety, including the application of code technology for medication administration and the implementation of a web based medical error reporting system. He is a member of over 20 professional societies and has authored over 100 peer reviewed scientific papers. He is the president of the Boston Surgical Society and the New England Society for Vascular Surgery. He maintains a surgical practice focused on aortic and carotid