WALTHAM – Dr. Khama D. Ennis, an Amherst resident, immediate past president of the medical staff and former chief of emergency medicine at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, has been honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society as the 2023 recipient of the
Woman Physician Leadership Award, an honor recognizing outstanding leadership and contributions to patients and the medical profession by a woman physician.
Dr. Ennis is viewed by her colleagues and the community as a leader in addressing structural racism in health care, social determinants of health and vaccine hesitancy. She penned several opinion pieces addressing race in medicine for the Washington
Post and created a presentation for the Hampshire and Franklin County Districts of the MMS that was selected by the Board of Registration in Medicine as one of three that meets the new licensure requirement for implicit bias education.
“I have continued to be impressed not just by how compassionate and professional a physician she is but also a tremendous role model for women physicians and for women of color,” Dr. Kate Atkinson said. “Dr. Khama Ennis has been speaking out constructively
and gently to educate and empower us all to do better. I have personally grown from the messages she has taught and admire her greatly. I can think of no better role model for Women in Medicine than Dr. Khama Ennis."
Dr. Ennis has launched a donor-funded narrative health equity project called Faces of Medicine, sharing the journeys of Black female physicians with a goal of creating inspiration to diversify medicine and thereby improve health equity. A docu-series
and mini-memoir collection are in development.
Dr. Ennis is a graduate of Brown University, New York University School of Medicine and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (master’s degree). She completed emergency medicine residency at Mass General & Brigham & Women’s Hospitals and pursued
training in medical acupuncture at the University of New England. She is currently completing fellowship training in integrative health and lifestyle medicine.
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the statewide professional association for physicians and medical students, supporting 25,000 members. We are dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians of Massachusetts and patients locally
and nationally. A leadership voice in health care, the MMS contributes physician and patient perspectives to influence health-related legislation at the state and federal levels, works in support of public health, provides expert advice on physician
practice management, and addresses issues of physician well-being. Under the auspices of the NEJM Group, the MMS extends our mission globally by advancing medical knowledge from research to patient care through the New England Journal of Medicine,
NEJM Catalyst, and the NEJM Journal Watch family of specialty publications, and through our education products for health care professionals: NEJM Knowledge+, NEJM Resident 360, and our accredited and comprehensive continuing medical education
programs.
