Dr. Winston Parris has been awarded the Knighthood (Knight Commander of St Lucia) on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and Government of St Lucia
Dr. Winston Parris, MD awarded the Knighthood (Knight Commander of St. Lucia)
Winston C V Parris, KCSL, CMG, MD,FACPM.
Dr. Winston Parris, a native of St Lucia, was awarded a Government scholarship to study Medicine at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica in 1962 and he graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Degree (MB.BS). After completing Internship and Residency in Anesthesia, he returned to St Lucia in 1971 and served with distinction as the only Consultant Anesthesiologist at Victoria Hospital for four and a half years. In 1975, he immigrated to the USA and completed a residency in Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1977, he joined the Anesthesiology faculty and served in that capacity for 23 years rising through the ranks to
become a full-tenured Professor of Anesthesiology in 1989. While at Vanderbilt, he published extensively on the Anesthetic management of many complex disease processes and he single-handedly developed a protocol for the Anesthetic management of Systemic Mastocytosis, a disease that was usually associated with death during Surgery. His recommendations have been adopted worldwide and have significantly reduced the morbidity and mortality associated with Systemic Mastocytosis. Dr. Parris developed an early interest in Pain Management and as early as 1979 recognized the major deficiency of Pain Management in USA in general and Tennessee in particular. He was a founding member of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American College of Pain Medicine, the American Board of Pain Medicine and the Tennessee Pain Society. He served as President of the following organizations: American Board of Pain Medicine, American College of Pain Medicine, the Tennessee Pain Society, Leukemia Society of America-Tennessee Chapter and as Secretary of the
American Academy of Pain Medicine. He also served as President of the World Society of Pain Clinicians for 6 years and during that time helped develop Pain Clinics in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Far East and Eastern Europe. Dr Parris founded the
Vanderbilt Pain Control Center in 1982 and served as its Medical Director from 1982 to 1997. Dr Parris served on the Advisory Committee for Anesthesia, Pain and Life support Drugs of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 1998 to 2002.
Dr. Parris went into Private Practice after the death of his late wife and became the CEO of Universal Anesthesia Care, Universal Management Anesthesia Company and Universal Pain Institute in Tampa, Florida. From 2003 to 2005, Dr. Parris was the
Director of Clinical Research at Anesthesia Pain Care Consultants in Fort Lauderdale. In July 2005, Dr Parris accepted the position as Professor of Anesthesia and Chief of the Pain Programs at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina but continues to run the St Lucia Pain Institute and the St Luke’s Clinic for the underprivileged in St Lucia. In 2004, Dr Parris was honored by Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain with the Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for his service and accomplishments in the field of Pain Medicine. In February 2010, he received the St Lucia Cross from the Government of St Lucia for his contributions in Pain Medicine. In August 2011, Dr. Parris officially retired from clinical practice in the department of Anesthesiology at Duke University as Professor of Anesthesiology and Chief of the Pain Clinic and was appointed Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology at Duke University Medical School.
Dr. Parris has been actively involved in research and clinical trials of topical analgesics for the treatment of Musculo-skeletal pain syndromes in collaboration with the Department of Anesthesiology at Duke University School of Medicine and does limited consultancy in Pain Management and Addiction Medicine. Dr. Parris serves on the Board of the Jiti Foundation and also the Pleasant Grove Foundation. He is also the Chairman of the Governor-General’s (St Lucia) Legacy Committee. In May 2022, Dr Parris was awarded a Knighthood (Knight Commander of St Lucia) on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and Government of St Lucia and with the approval of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second. Dr. Parris is the author of 3 textbooks, 28 book chapters, 81 refereed publications and 147
abstracts, He spends the rest of his time playing golf and visiting with his grandchildren. Dr. Parris is married to Nelita (his first wife, Shirley is deceased) and he has 3 children; Wayne, Wendell and Sharon and 4 grandchildren.(Aryanna, Jazmynn, Jack and little
Winston.)
