When Alaska’s physician community honors one of its own, it is for impact that reaches far beyond a single patient. That distinction belongs to Dr. Benjamin Westley, who has been named a 2025 Golden Stethoscope Award recipient by the Alaska Hospital & Healthcare Association (AHHA). The award recognizes his leadership, innovation, and sustained commitment to improving care for Alaskans statewide.
An infectious disease specialist at Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) in Anchorage and a proud Alaska WWAMI graduate, Dr. Westley has built a career that bridges hands-on patient care with meaningful systemwide change.
While much of his work centers on individual patients, Dr. Westley emphasizes the broader impact of collaboration, noting that partnerships with organizations like AHHA allow physicians to influence care across the Last Frontier. He describes that reach as deeply gratifying.
That influence is perhaps most visible through his leadership in antimicrobial stewardship. Dr. Westley is the medical director of a program that monitors antibiotic prescribing and provides real-time feedback to clinicians. The results are measurable: by refining inpatient pneumonia treatment protocols, ANMC significantly reduced the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and now consistently ranks among the top large facilities in its region for responsible antimicrobial use. This work improves patient outcomes today while protecting treatment options for the future.
Education and mentorship are equally central to Dr. Westley’s impact. He regularly teaches an infectious diseases clinical elective to third- and fourth-year WWAMI students, immersing them in the realities of caring for Alaska’s most diverse and vulnerable populations.
“HIV, tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, and other neglected tropical diseases are not just textbook chapters. They are real illnesses affecting Alaskans every day,” he said.
Through this elective, students encounter a full spectrum of infectious disease cases.
“Students might see an infant with Haemophilus meningitis in the morning, then care for an HIV patient from our LGBTQ+ community in the afternoon,” he explained. “Or they may see a refugee with temporary protected status and tuberculosis, followed by an incarcerated individual with endocarditis. By the end of our time together, my hope is that students leave inspired by the idea that caring for everyone as an equal leads to a better world for us all.”
Dr. Westley’s approach to medicine is also shaped by the example set by his father, Dr. Michael Westley, a longtime pulmonary and critical care physician at ANMC and a well-known WWAMI preceptor. His father modeled a career grounded in service, quality improvement, and global perspective.
“As the only pulmonologist on staff, my father spoke openly about the dangers of tobacco and helped lead the campus to become entirely smoke-free — well ahead of its time,” Dr. Benjamin Westley said.
Dr. Michael Westley’s career took him from Reading, Pennsylvania to Nigeria, Iran, and ultimately to Alaska in 1976, where he joined the U.S. Public Health Service at ANMC. In addition to pulmonology, he trained in hyperbaric medicine and served as Alaska’s Divers Alert Network physician.
“I have distinct memories of my brother and me playing with toy cars and transformers at the hospital as my father led a team running the dive chamber and recompressing a patient with decompression sickness.”
Later in his career, Dr. Michael Westley focused on quality improvement, collaborating with leaders from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. That example instilled in Dr. Benjamin Westley a commitment to continual improvement, challenging the status quo, and embracing change, even when it’s challenging.
“I’m so grateful he modeled this ideal for our family,” he said. “His example pushed me beyond my comfort zone, and there’s no question that my experiences around the world helped shape the physician I am today.”
During his own training, Dr. Westley worked throughout the United States as well as in Cambodia, East Timor, and South Africa, experiences that reinforced how a single physician’s dedication can strengthen entire systems and communities. These lessons continue to guide his work today.
“The breadth of my specialty, and the diverse patient populations I care for each day, make every day a busy but fulfilling challenge,” he said.
The 2025 Golden Stethoscope Award recognizes not only what Dr. Benjamin Westley has accomplished, but the far-reaching impact of a physician committed to progress, equity, and excellence across Alaska’s healthcare system.