Contact: Richard Gulla
781-434-7101
rgulla@mms.org
Waltham, Mass. – Virginia T. Latham, M.D., a past president of the Massachusetts Medical Society and a physician whose contributions to organized medicine span more than three decades and reflect a distinguished commitment to the medical profession, was awarded a Presidential Citation by the Massachusetts Medical Society at the organization’s 2016 Interim Meeting of its House of Delegates on Friday, December 2 in Waltham.
The rare honor - hers is only the second such citation given by the Society – was presented to Dr. Latham by MMS President James S. Gessner, M.D. “in recognition of a career in medicine exemplary of the highest traditions, ideals, and aspirations of the Massachusetts Medical Society.”
“She has served our society in so many ways with the utmost grace, humility, and distinction,” said Dr. Gessner in presenting the award.
A member of the Medical Society since 1983, Dr. Latham has been a member of the House of Delegates and the Board of Trustees, a member and chair of many Committees and Task Forces, President of the Middlesex Central District Medical Society, and a delegate to the American Medical Association.
In 2000, she became President of the Massachusetts Medical Society, only the third women elected to lead the Society.
Under her presidency, the society made its mark in the area of patient safety, with the passage of a landmark Patient Bill of Rights, as well as providing strong support for patient privacy and confidentiality, as new regulations at the time – the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act – came into being. She also co-chaired the search committee for a new editor for the New England Journal of Medicine – an activity that resulted in the appointment of the current editor, Dr. Jeffrey Drazen.
Dr. Gessner noted that as a president of the Society, a member of the
MMS Committee on Women in Medicine, and throughout her membership, Dr. Latham has served as “an inspiration and role model to all physicians and those contemplating a career in medicine.”
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Boston University with a B.A. in biology and chemistry, Dr. Latham received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1981.
She has also served as President of the Massachusetts Branch of the American Medical Women’s Association, a Board Member of Partners Community Healthcare, and President of the Medical Staff at Emerson Hospital.
The complete text of Dr. Gessner’s presentation to Dr. Latham may be read at
www.massmed.org/DrLatham.
The Massachusetts Medical Society, with more than 25,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society, under the auspices of NEJM Group, publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading global medical journal and web site, and Journal Watch alerts and newsletters covering 13 specialties. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education providing accredited and certified activities across the globe for physicians and other health care professionals. Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. For more information please visit www.massmed.org, www.nejm.org, or www.jwatch.org.
###
