Winton Briggs, MD
New England Rehab Hospital

Amelia Earhart became the first woman to cross the Pacific. The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series over the Detroit Tigers. The Lock Ness monster is spotted for the first time. A gallon of gas was 10 cents and the Studebaker truck to put it in was $625. Political unrest in Europe would cause the next world war. Clark Gable received Best Actor for his role in “It Happened One Night”. And, Winton Briggs was born in Providence, Rhode Island.

1934 was the turning point in the great depression, but that year and the next few years to come, proved to be a difficult time for many families. Life choices were made for reasons meant to cope with the times. For a young Win and his brother, their mother’s unavoidable choice was to place her children with foster parents. By the time he was in high school, Win Briggs had lived in Providence, RI, Brunswick, ME, Freeport, ME, Waltham, MA, and Arlington, MA . Their mother’s decision, however, resulted in the boys learning, ironically, stability.

Dr. Briggs recalls, “I feel very fortunate to have lived with two ‘superb’ families. They were both very different in their backgrounds and lifestyles, but they were wonderful to me and to my brother.” Of his Maine family, a hard working, quiet family, he credits “Aunt Betty” for being positive in attitude and instilling in him that same mind-set. From his Arlington, MA family, he and his brother learned the importance of education and they were exposed to music. “Uncle Carl” was the organist at church and they had a piano at home. So in an environment that supported basic, but high standards, Win received a scholarship to Mt. Hermon preparatory school where he excelled in sports, sang in an a cappella choir and graduated cum laude.

Directive to Medicine
Dr. Brigg’s biological mom was a practical nurse who visited her boys throughout their childhood years. Dr. Briggs said, “Whenever my mother came to visit she would say over and over: ‘you are going to be a doctor’! Along side my 6th grade year book picture, I even wrote ‘I want to be a doctor’.” At Mt. Hermon, a biology teacher took a special interest in Win and science became one of his favorite classes. “I also had a very stimulating biology teacher at Tufts, who assigned interesting research programs. He took us to Woods Hole where I met Nobel Prize winners. It was a very inspirational experience.”

So Winton Briggs did just what he always knew he would do - he became a doctor. He left Mt. Hermon for Tufts and received his B.S. in Biology/Chemistry. It was during this time that Dr. Briggs met his wife, Robin, also a student at Tufts and they got married the day after he graduated. He went on to obtain his M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. His mom was at graduation to see her son fulfill her dream for him. Internship and a residency in Internal Medicine followed at Maine Medical Center. Dr. Briggs went into private practice, specializing in Internal Medical. Dr. and Mrs. Briggs and their family, now including 3 children, settled in Cape Elizabeth. Hard work and planning was paying off. Then came the draft.

Saving Lives During the Vietnam War
Escalation of the Vietnam War occurred in 1965. In 1966, Dr. Briggs was drafted in the Army. He was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Captain in the Medical Corp. Unexpected orders kept him from deployment to Vietnam but he was involved in saving lives just the same. Dr. Briggs explains, “The basic training camps were rampant with cases of bacterial meningitis. There was no vaccine at the time and meningitis was accountable for 6 to 8 deaths per year, because treatment was often too late. Our Infection Disease officer wanted internal medicine docs to stay stateside to help with outbreaks. We were instructed to aggressively treat any kids with headache and fever immediately. Deaths dropped dramatically, and we only lost 1 person under that protocol.” Dr. Briggs was discharged in 1968 and went home to his family and to resume his life in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

New England Rehabilitation Hospital Hires Medical Director
For the next several years, Dr. Briggs was an attending physician in Internal Medicine at Maine Medical Center and Mercy Hospital. He was involved in teaching, as instructor of MMC’s School of Nursing and USM’s Family Nurse Assistance Program. He was also Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Tufts and at the University of Vermont. He served on numerous committees at MMC, Mercy, the Southern Maine Association of Cooperating Hospitals and the Cumberland County Medical Society.

In the mid-eighties, a nursing home that was on Charles Street was purchased by New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Woburn and it was converted to a rehabilitation hospital. Having colleagues involved with the formation of the new hospital, Dr. Brigg’s reputation must have been significant because the Administration at Woburn offered him a position as Medical Director. Dr. Briggs said, “I thought, well, I’ve done just about everything else, I might as well give it a try. It was a great experience. I learned rehabilitation medicine along the way and from great staff.”

That was in 1986 and he has been with us ever since. If you have been following the Medical Staff Highlights of the past several months, you will see that most of our current physicians were interviewed by Dr. Briggs. It could be said that he set the foundation for the excellent attending medical staff we have here today.

A cappella to Choral
Since his singing with the a cappella group at Mt. Hermon, music stayed on as a hobby, and most probably was in Win Brigg’s genes all along. Besides being a practical nurse, his biological mom was also a concert cellist who played under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. His grandfather was a singer, although he never met him. Win became president of the chorus while at Tufts University. In fact, that is where he met his wife, who was the secretary of the chorus. Once settled into family life and a medical practice, Dr. Briggs became a member, and served a stint as president, of the Chancel Choir of his church. While in the army, he was a member of the Chapel Choir and later on was the founding member of the Choral Art Society of Portland. You may have seen Dr. Briggs on stage at Merrill Auditorium during a holiday or two!

Cycling Two Centuries – A Way to Relax
Dr. Briggs recalls, “When I was in the 5th grade I had a second-hand balloon tire bike that I needed to deliver papers around my route in Arlington. I really wanted a 3 speed! My cousin was a bike enthusiast who raced. He made me a bike which I had from junior high throughout my senior year in college. I sold it to buy a microscope. I had to come up with a little extra for that microscope!”

As an adult, Dr. Briggs got into serious cycling initially for fitness, but found it was also a great stress reducer. With such a busy life, it’s hard to imagine fitting time in for recreation. But for Dr. Briggs, his cycling became a way to relax and allowed time for quiet thinking.

Today, Dr. Briggs averages about 100 miles a week and he likes to vary his goals. Sometimes he goes 25 miles each way, sometimes 40 miles, but he also likes to “ride my age”. That would be from Cape Elizabeth to Sebago. His favorite is to ride 2 centuries! Try to cycle from Cape Elizabeth to North Conway, NH and back on one day. That’s 2 centuries worth of relaxing.

The Spirit of NERHP
Dr. Briggs is now semi-retired. He and Robin are snow birds, spending the winter months at home in Vero Beach, FL. The staff at NERHP look forward to seeing Dr Briggs return in May and enjoy working with him once again. Dr. Briggs is synonymous with New England Rehabilitation Hospital and the spirit behind its culture and success. His enthusiasm for life is evident every time you see him come down the hallway with that bounce in his step, twinkle in his eye and infectious smile on his face.