Alsmna wes Atlanta's fir$ female anesthesiologist
here were many ended up dorng a two-year residency rt opened its new facilrty on peachtree
anesthesiologists who at the city's Bellvue Hospital under Dr. ,]957
Road in because it was close to h-"r
attended the Medical College Emery Rovenstjne, the man who trained home and children's school.
of Georgia's May alumnr Dr, Perry Volpitto years earlier Health problems prompted her to
reception in Atlanla. But one in "When i would come home
at retjre from fuil-time clinical practice in
particular seemed to draw a lit|e more
Christmas I would always visit Dr 1968, but she continued working for the
aitention than the others. Dr. Kathleen Volpitto," Byers-Lindsey said "We were Atlanta VA in an administrative role until
Byers-Ljndsey. good friends; I liked hjm very much,,
1982.
The 1943 graduate was A|anta,s first She worked a short tjme at Baptist She is the first American Board
female anesthesiologist and its first to be Hospital in New Orleans before deciding of Anesthesiology-cert jf ied female
:oard-certified in anesthesiology When to come back to Georgia to take a physician jn Atlanta (Certjficate No
850,
sne moved there in 1947 to take a job at position at Piedmont, where she was
lVarch, 26, 1952) and js likely one of the
Piedmont Hospital, she was one of the one of two women on the medical first certified female anesthesiologists
only anesthesiologists, period sta{f She acknowtedges erper,encirg in the nation, though that can't be
"There weren't many in
the'4Os discrimination early in her career, but verified. A board spokeswoman saicl :
here," said Byers-Lindsey, 94 "l think said it didn't have any impact on her. ;;
the organization considers ajl member I
there were about six." "At that time there was some i
information other than certificatron :l
Ihe Augusta native was one of three discouragement, but I didn't pay any il
status to be private.
women in her class at MCG, and she was attention to it and t'm kind of glad I Byers-Lrndsey is proud of the
one of the few - male or female - to didn't," she said. "l was quite young and distinction but doesn't ihink of herself as
pursue training outside the South. She
narve, so if I was drscrim jnated against,I being a trairblazer iq medicine.
boarded a train for New york City to do didn't recognize it." "l don't know if pioneer is the
right
an internship at the Flower Fifth Avenue After meeting her husband, William, word or not," she sard "The time had
Hospitai. and giving birth to the fjrst of two a lot to do wjth it Durjng the war, a lot
"The country was at war,
so you could children, Byers-Lindsey decrded to leave of ihe rnen were in Lhe service, so we
choose where you wanted to go," she Piedmont's hectic evenrng and weekend women had a littie chance to spread
said. "l chose the big city. I wanted to see schedules for the more family-friendly our wings, so to speak, l'm just happy
some of the world " schedule of Atlanta's Veterans Affairs to have done something that I enjoyed
She became interested in the
emergrng specialty of anesthesia, and
Medical Center However, she came back doing for so long." r
to Piedmont not long after