After 31 years of providing anesthesia services, Dr. Noel Beckford is officially hanging up his scrubs and retiring at the end of 2020.
Dr. Beckford received his medical degree in New York City. He then completed his internship and residency at Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut and became the Chief Resident of Anesthesiology in 1988. After his residency, he spent a year working Locums to see the country, before settling in Centralia, at Providence Centralia Hospital in the early 1990’s. With fellow anesthesiologists, he founded Southwest Washington Anesthesia Group and provided anesthesia coverage at various facilities throughout the region.
Retired orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Keith Anderson, recalls first meeting Dr. Beckford at Providence Centralia Hospital, mentioning how impressed he was with Dr. Beckford’s thoroughness and, “the fact that his patients woke up quickly, alert, and comfortable, rather than nauseated and groggy as was the case with many other anesthesiologists at the time.” Dr. Beckford has always been one to provide high-quality, efficient anesthesia, which has allowed the surgeons and nursing staff to better care for patients both intraoperatively and post-operatively.
In 1994, Washington Orthopaedic Center built and opened the first physician-owned Ambulatory Surgery Centers in the State of Washington. Dr. Beckford was one of their first Anesthesia providers, and later became the Director of Anesthesia for the ASC—a title he still holds today.
Dr. Beckford was the first Anesthesiologist at Washington Orthopaedic Center to utilize an ultrasound machine to perform anesthetic nerve blocks. He exclusively managed anesthesia services for every total joint procedure performed at the ASC for the initial 2 years total joint procedures were performed at WOC, and was involved in the coordination of, and then caring for, our first outpatient total hip replacement in the ASC.
Dr. Beckford has a heart for serving, and joined the providers and staff of Washington Orthopaedic Center on mission trips to Nicaragua during his tenure. He has also been active in support of local charities and took his team to victory in the WOC food drive competition one year by bringing in over 2,000 pounds of potatoes!
As a man of few words, he is typically quiet with a keen sense of humor and quick wit. When the nursing and administrative staff at the ASC had a team-building picture painting party, and hung every one of their paintings on his office wall as a joke, he laughed and left them all on display. He likes to travel and garden, and frequently shares the fruits of his harvest with his coworkers. He is an avid airplane pilot and bicyclist, and frequently rides his bicycle to work.
In addition to Washington Orthopaedic Center, he has provided anesthesia services for Foot & Ankle Surgical Associates, Providence Centralia Hospital, Dr. Lang, and for Dr. Kugel.
We will sincerely miss Dr. Beckford, and wish him the very best in his retirement.
