In an age of telemedicine, patients still drive across state lines to have Dr. Gail Weingast interpret their imaging. The reason? Trust earned over 40 years.
Since joining William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, Connecticut more than 20 years ago, she has built the gold-standard breast imaging program in eastern Connecticut. Women who receive “call-back” letters from other facilities often bring their films straight to her department, knowing one second look can change everything.
Her credentials explain part of the draw: Tufts BA (1969), Boston University MD (1976), pediatrics and radiology residencies at Colorado General, ultrasound fellowship, and decades of practice. But credentials don’t explain the bedside manner that turns terror into hope.
Technologists say she reviews every discrepancy herself. Surgeons say her reports are so precise they rarely need follow-up calls. Patients say she is the first doctor who ever sat down, held their hand, and explained dense tissue versus malignancy without rushing.
Dr. Gail Weingast didn’t set out to build a pilgrimage site for worried women; she simply refused to compromise. The result? A waiting list for appointments and a reputation that no algorithm can replicate.
When medicine becomes impersonal, her career reminds us that expertise plus empathy remains unbeatable.