WALTHAM – Dr. Stephen Bresnahan, a physician and humanitarian, is honored posthumously as the Plymouth District Medical Society’s 2020 Community Clinician of the Year, an award recognizing his professionalism and contributions as a physician.
The members of the district nominated Dr. Bresnahan in 2019 for the 2020 award and, sadly, on June 25, 2019, Dr. Bresnahan passed away after a courageous and graceful three-month battle with a glioblastoma brain tumor.
Dr. Bresnahan was beloved by patients and colleagues and will be remembered for his professional humility, gentle disposition, kindness and compassion.
In 1974, Dr. Bresnahan graduated Boston College High School, and the College of the Holy Cross in 1978, followed by the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1982. He completed his residency at University Hospital in Boston in 1985 and went on
to practice internal medicine and geriatrics in the greater Brockton area for over 30 years.
He was a dedicated staff member of the Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center and served as Medical Director at several health care facilities. Dr. Bresnahan’s career extended well over thirty years and he was also active in giving medical care to people
of Haiti.
In 2008, Dr. Bresnahan went on his first volunteer trip with the Saint Rock Haiti Foundation and from there he became a member of the Board of Directors. He also served as the Chair of the Clinical Practice Committee to ensure exemplary care was provided
by US practitioners in collaboration with the Haitian staff.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the Plymouth District Medical Society had to forego its annual meeting last May, the highlight of which was to have been the presentation of the 2020 Community Clinician of the Year Award to Dr. Bresnahan’s widow, Dr. Jocelyn
Bresnahan, with her family, friends and colleagues in attendance. In lieu of the public ceremony, Dr. George Clairmont, president of the Plymouth Medical Society, will deliver the plaque honoring Dr. Bresnahan for his life service to all those in
our Community as well as the people of Haiti.
The Community Clinician of the Year Award was established in 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the organization’s 20 district societies who has made significant contributions to his or her patients and the
Community.
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.
