Dr. Blake Jamison Honored for 64 years of medical practice as LVMC OBGYN

Hours after he assisted one final time on a cesarean section delivery at the age of 95, OBGYN Dr. W. Blake Jamison was honored by Lompoc Valley Medical Center for his more than six decades of medical practice.

Dr. Jamison, accompanied by his eldest son, Dr. Eric Jamison, attended the hospital’s annual Medical Staff holiday dinner at the Mission Club on Dec. 12. Earlier in the day, he had been called to assist fellow OBGYN Dr. Rod Huss in surgery.

Dr. Jamison was presented with a plaque acknowledging his “outstanding obstetrical and gynecological services provided to the Lompoc community and Lompoc Valley Medical Center for 64 years.”

“He has helped set the highest standard of medical and surgical care and continues to be a role model for his peers,” according to the recognition plaque presented at the event.

As his colleagues stood and applauded, Dr. Jamison remarked that it was a “wonderful surprise.”

“Being at the hospital for such a long period of time has been one of the joys of my life,” the emotional Jamison said. “I have met so many great people and wonderful patients. I feel like I settled in the right spot.”

Dr. Jamison, nicknamed “Bud,” was greatly assisted in his career by his wife, the late Dr. Karin Jamison, who died in 2018. The couple met while attending USC Medical School. She was in private practice and was also a physician at Vandenberg Air Force Base and LVMC’s Emergency Department. At one point in his career, Dr. Jamison was diagnosed with mumps, and his wife stepped in to deliver some 40 babies while he recovered – and kept up her own practice at the same time.

“She was such a part of what he was able to accomplish,” Dr. Eric Jamison said of his mother.

The elder Jamison spoke lovingly about his wife, and his own career. He noted that some months he was delivering 50 babies in Lompoc, with no other OBGYNs at the time.

“I can’t say there’s any place I’d rather be,” he said. “I enjoyed all the marvelous patients I had. They energized my life and made me feel like I was doing something that was productive. It worked out well for me and it worked out well for them.”

Dr. Jamison gave high praise to the LVMC labor and delivery nurses he worked with for decades.

Dr. Huss said when he arrived at LVMC in 1989, Dr. Jamison said he’d be working another five years or so before he’d retire. That was 35 years ago.

“I couldn’t quit because it was so much fun,” Dr. Jamison said.

“He’s an excellent surgeon,” Dr. Huss noted. “He’s the epitome of a perfect assistant. He always knows what you’re going to do and he’s right there with you. This morning when we were halfway through a case, he said, ‘I love doing this.’ He really does love being in the operating room.”

Fellow OBGYN Dr. Lloyd Trujillo said he would often call Dr. Jamison in the middle of the night for assistance on a delivery, and his colleague would be at the hospital waiting for him when he arrived, despite the late hour.

“He has such a positive attitude,” Dr. Trujillo said. “He’s so collegial, generous and helpful. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve counted on him, and you were there, Bud. You contributed to me and my patients. I appreciate it, more than you could ever know. I’m going to miss you very much.”

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Randall Michel said it seemed in the early days that Dr. Jamison’s car was in the hospital parking lot 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Probably more than it should have been,” Dr. Jamison noted.

Despite Dr. Jamison’s tremendous work ethic, his son said he and his three siblings always felt his presence.

“He managed to be a father who we all felt was an integral part of our lives,” Dr. Eric Jamison said. “He just worked and worked, but not at the expense of his family. Dad, I’d really like to thank you for being the father that you’ve been for all these years.”