Sam Chambers

Staff from across the Brigham celebrated the hospital’s third annual National Coming Out Day and LGBT Leadership Awards ceremony on Oct. 10 in Carrie Hall.

Brigham Health President Betsy Nabel, MD, reaffirmed the institution’s longstanding commitment to ensuring BWH is a welcoming place for all patients, families, staff and visitors. Although the external climate remains uncertain and challenging, our values have remained the same, Nabel said. “We are a diverse and inclusive community,” she said.

Keynote speaker Sam Chambers, the LGBT liaison for Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, highlighted several programs and partnerships aimed at making Boston a more supportive, safer community for all. Chambers also discussed the role health care institutions can play in achieving this.

“It is my hope that, in all hospitals across Boston and the Commonwealth, every patient receives the same bedside manner and quality of care, regardless of their gender expression, gender identity or sexual orientation,” he said.

The event, sponsored by the Brigham Health LGBT & Allies Employee Resource Group, also honored this year’s winners of the LGBT Leadership Awards:

• Maureen Fagan, DNP, MHA, WCNP-BC, FNP-BC, associate chief nurse in the Connors Center for Women and Newborns and executive director of the Center for Patients and Families, BWH
• Ed Liston-Kraft, PhD, vice president of Professional and Clinical Services, BWFH

To learn more about the Brigham Health LGBT & Allies Employee Resource Group, contact Pothik Chatterjee at  bwhclgbt@brigham.harvard.edu.