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In This Issue:
From left, Michael VanRooyen, Jeffrey Karp, Jackie Somerville, Nathalie Agar and Betsy Nabel.
Move over, Emmy Awards. BWH leadership rolled out the red carpet in Palm Beach for generous donors with the hospital’s very own Palmie Awards show.
The annual Palm Beach fundraising event is a time for hospital benefactors and friends to receive thanks for their help and hear about groundbreaking developments at BWH. This year’s show, co-chaired by loyal hospital supporters Steven and Kathy Haley, highlighted medical and research staff who won prestigious national and local awards in 2010.
“It isn’t just the award-winning clinical and research staff who continue to inspire and impress me,” said BWH President Betsy Nabel, MD, to the more than 200 attendees at the 15th annual dinner in January. “It is also our donors. Your support of our hospital, and your dedication to its continued success, are a constant reminder to me of the deep connection the Brigham has with its philanthropic benefactors.”
While the event recognized all of the award-winning work that takes place at BWH—in 2010, the hospital earned over 65 honors, distinctions and awards—the evening’s spotlight shined on four categories: patient care, teaching, research and community/global health. The individuals or groups chosen to represent each category were awarded a “Palmie Award” trophy in the shape of a palm tree.
In the patient care category, Jackie Somerville, PhD, RN, chief nursing officer and vice president of Patient Care Services, accepted a Palmie on behalf of the BWH Cardiac Surgery ICU nursing team on Shapiro 6 West, which received a Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence, a prestigious national award designated by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
Nathalie Agar, PhD, director of the Surgical Molecular Imaging Laboratory at BWH, a 2010 recipient of the National Institutes of Health’s New Innovator Award, received a Palmie Award in the research category.
A Palmie Award for both research and teaching went to Jeffrey Karp, PhD, director for the Laboratory for Advanced Biomaterials and Stem Cell Based Therapeutics. Karp received a Coulter Translational Research Award in 2010, as well as the Thomas A. McMahon Mentoring Award.
In the community health category, Michael VanRooyen, MD, MPH, director of the Division of International Health and Humanitarian Programs at BWH, accepted a Palmie Award. VanRooyen was named a Boston Business Journal 2010 Health Care Champion in recognition of his extensive work and experience in disaster relief across the globe.
In addition to the Palmie Awards, the annual Palm Beach event featured a men’s health breakfast with a focus on strength and balance. Speakers included Jennifer Baima, MD, and Eric Bluman, MD, PhD, both of the Orthopedics Department, Reginald Wilcox III, PT, DPT, MS, OCS, of Rehabilitation Services and Outpatient Services, and professional golfer Dana Quigley.
The event also featured a women’s health luncheon with the topic of global women’s health. Speakers included Nabel, Paula A. Johnson, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of Women’s Health and executive director of the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology, and Felicia Lester, MD, of the Connors Center. Kate Powis, MD, a global women’s health fellow who is currently working in Botswana, also spoke to the luncheon attendees via Skype.