This spring, Marsha Harbison made a gift to create a special endowment through Baystate Health Foundation–The William Harbison, MD Award for Clinical Excellence and Compassionate Patient Care–to celebrate the career and legacy of her beloved late husband. For Marsha, the award is a way to honor Bill while supporting the hospital and physicians who embody the qualities he valued throughout his career.
“This award is deeply meaningful to me and my family as we honor the enduring legacy and spirit of a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend,” shares Marsha. “With The Harbison Award, we carry forward Bill’s example—reminding us that medicine is not only a science, but a deeply human endeavor grounded in compassion and connection.”
Family – Rick, Chris, Heidi and Marsha.
Marsha and Dr. Bill Harbison lived their life together with a spirit of adventure. They embraced new places, new experiences, and the people they met along the way.
Dr. Harbison’s early medical career took them to New Mexico, where he served in the Indian Health Service caring for patients on the Navajo Reservation, and then to Montreal, Canada, where they welcomed their first two children. Eventually, Bill’s lifelong love of Lake Champlain led them to Western Massachusetts. “Bill took a pencil and circled on a map any hospitals within a four-hour drive to Lake Champlain that aligned with his specialty,” Marsha recalls. Luckily, that search led them to Pioneer Valley Cardiology where Dr. Harbison would care for patients as a cardiologist for the next forty years and where they would welcome another child.
There, Dr. Harbison built a career as a trusted and beloved cardiologist, teacher, and colleague, leaving a legacy of compassionate care and human connection, one that Marsha is now helping to carry forward through The Harbison Award.
Dr. Harbison loved his patients and, perhaps most of all, loved getting to know them. His interest in people went far beyond their medical histories. Marsha recalls. “He wanted to know who they were and what their stories were. Bill was so well known, trusted and compassionate. Anyone could call him for advice, and he was always willing to help.” He was also infamous among family and friends for making "house calls," sometimes unannounced, often on his bike.
Curiosity stayed with him throughout his career. He continued studying and maintaining his medical license even when he no longer needed to, simply because he wanted to keep learning. A widely respected teacher, he found deep satisfaction mentoring and sharing his patient-centered values with the next generation of physicians. After retiring, he served on the admissions committee at UMass Chan Medical School – Baystate and continued caring for patients at the Volunteers in Medicine free clinic.
Dr. Harbison suffered an aortic dissection in 2025 with his life saved after a fourteen-hour surgery led by cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Anthony Rousou at Baystate Medical Center.
This July, Dr. Rousou and critical care physician Dr. Jonathon Chinea received the inaugural William Harbison, MD Award for Clinical Excellence and Compassionate Patient Care for the high-quality care they provided Bill, for the compassion, trust and teamwork they fostered to create a healing environment for Marsha and family during the many months of Bill’s recovery, and for the precious more time that gave them together as a family until Bill’s passing in February 2026.
“We are so grateful to the Harbison Family for recognizing Dr. Rousou and Dr. Chinea and the Heart & Vascular team,” shares Dr. Amir Lotfi, Chief of Cardiology for Baystate Health. “We are honored to carry on Dr. Harbison’s legacy by daily working together: providing the highest-quality care, pursuing clinical excellence, treating our patients and families with compassion, and supporting one another as a team.”
Thank you, Marsha, for your generosity, your dedication to our community, and for ensuring that Dr. Harbison’s beautiful legacy of care continues to inspire generations of physicians to come.