D.W. “Chip” Pettigrew III, MD, FACEP, was born in El Paso, Texas and moved many times during his childhood, but he always had a home on the family farm in Arkansas.
Dr. Pettigrew joined the Army in July 1969 and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point where he earned Bachelor of Science in Engineering. He attended medical school at the University of Arkansas College of Medicine and completed an emergency medicine residency at Madigan Army Medical Center.
Dr. Pettigrew’s Army assignments included positions as a line officer in an infantry division, in the US Army’s elite special operations 1st Ranger Battalion (Airborne) and subsequent hospital assignments in clinical emergency medicine. Dr. Pettigrew’s awards and certifications for service and deployments include airborne and Ranger certification, flight surgeon wings, medic badge, Army Commendation Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals and multiple other medals and ribbons.
After completion of his service obligation, Dr. Pettigrew was recruited to the Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens, Ga., where he was the first residency trained and board-certified emergency physician on staff. There, he started an independent, Democratic group which is still thriving.
Dr. Pettigrew has been active in ACEP state and national activities, including his service as President of the Georgia College of Emergency Physicians (GCEP) and 30 years as an ACEP Councillor. He has volunteered for multiple committee assignments in Georgia and ACEP. Dr. Pettigrew has twice received GCEP’s leadership award and has also actively participated in the Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) and the Emergency Department Practice Management Association (EDPMA). In 2023, he was awarded EDPMA’s highest award, the Meritorious Service Award.
Through GCEP, ACEP, MAG and EDPMA, Dr. Pettigrew has ceaselessly advocated for EM, resulting in multiple state laws benefiting Georgia’s patients and emergency physicians.
Most recently, Dr. Pettigrew served on the Emergency Medicine Policy Institute’s (EMPI) Board of Governors. As Chair, Dr. Pettigrew was instrumental in implementing the RAND Corporation’s soon-to-be published Value of Emergency Medicine white paper.
About This Award
The John A. Rupke Legacy Award is presented to a current College member for outstanding lifetime contributions to the College.
