Saluting A
Medical Pioneer
By Lee Carlisle, MD
The year was 1949 when a young man by the name of William H. Hadnott, Jr. entered Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. It was the year that his father passed away, and only four years after his mother had died.
Also in 1949, The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston accepted its first African-American studentC9and Hadnott had been waiting for this opportunity.
In 1952, Hadnott was accepted and allowed through the doors of Galveston’s medical school.
In an interview with the UTMB Quarterly in 2001, Dr. Hadnott said, “Being a doctor had been a sort of a dream, very vague.
“Until then, going to medical school had been out of the question for a poor black boy growing up in Beaumont.”
He began his medical school education living in a dormitory by himself, still segregated by the Jim Crow laws. With both parents being teachers, he was told to direct his life’s path with formal education. Not only did he do this for himself, but he served as a pioneer to help erase the color boundaries for innumerable minority students to come.
Indeed, William H. Hadnott, Jr. had become a physician, but he also is an extraordinary human being who has dedicated his life to medicine and deserves recognition for his enduring leadership.
He began his distinguished career in San Antonio, at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). He was enrolled in the first anesthesiology residency class in 1967. Several years later, he was the first and only resident to graduate from that fledgling class.
He delivered the first anesthetic at what is now known as University Hospital the night before it officially opened as the Bexar County hospital.
He received an academic appointment in June of 1969. For the next several decades, he helped train each successive residency class while being a model for professionalism, compassion and steadiness in all operating room occurrences.
In 1981, Dr. Hadnott was promoted to Clinical Professor. In 2007, Dr. Hadnott formally retired from UTHSCSA, but his positive impact on friends, trainees and colleagues still remains.
In addition to his lengthy and rewarding tenured 38-year career at UTHSCSA, there were numerous other distinguishing moments.
Dr. Hadnott had a dynamic private practice career in San Antonio. He served as chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Baptist Health Systems as well as Chief of Anesthesiology at Nix Medical Center.
He is a fellow of the American College of Anesthesi-ologists and a diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology. He is a founding member of the C.A. Whittier Medical Society, as well as a long-time member of the Bexar County Medical Society, where he has served in key leadership positions in both of these organizations.
In fact, in 1997 the Texas House of Representatives of the 75th Texas Legislature passed House Resolution No. 417, which served as official notice that Dr. Hadnott’s vision and leadership were due special praise and recognition.
Moreover, Dr. Hadnott was awarded the prestigious Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus Award at UTMB in June 2005. He has been a member of the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists (TSA) since 1970. At their recent annual meeting, the House of Delegates nominated Hadnott for the Texas Society of Anesthesi-ologists Distinguished Service Award for 2008, one of the most prestigious awards granted by the TSA.
His pioneering spirit was sparked at a young age, compliments of loving and supportive parents. His driving work ethic was given the green light when the segregation environment started to crumble.
Following his anesthesia residency training at UTHSCSA, his memorable tenure has directly benefited countless anesthesiologists practicing in the state of Texas and beyond.
If the true measure of a human being is gauged by what they contribute to the world around them, then Dr. Hadnott is priceless. He has been present within the Department of Anesthesiology at UTHSCSA since its inception. His strong compass has helped guide the course of the Department in a positive direction. He has created a trajectory for a bright future for all anesthesia residents at
UTHSCSA for years to come.
It is in this spirit of celebration that a permanent endowment is being established at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in the name of William H. Hadnott, Jr. MD.
The purpose of this endowment is to create a chair in the Department of Anesthesiology to honor Dr. Hadnott’s excellence in and dedication to resident education, patient care and innovative contributions to the field of anesthesiology.
The endowed chair will support future faculty members who embody the qualities found within Dr. Hadnott.
If you would like to join the University’s effort by making a tax-deductible contribution toward the endowment that will be an eternal reminder of the true legacy of Dr. William H. Hadnott Jr., please contact Lee Carlisle, MD at carlislel@uthscsa.edu.
For more information about Dr. Hadnott’s incredible career, please go to: anesthesia.uthscsa.edu/hadnott.
Lee Carlisle, MD is an anesthesiologist and clinical assistant
professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
