Khadda El Bouazzaoui and Geylor Espinal are among many BWHers recently honored for exemplifying the Brigham Way.

Geylor Espinal and Khadda El Bouazzaoui, members of the Valet team at BWH, are practically celebrities at the Brigham’s 75 Francis St. main entrance. Many patients and their families, visitors and staff look forward to Espinal and El Bouazzaoui’s familiar faces and warm greetings each time they come to the hospital. One patient described them as “rays of sunshine on many dark days.” 

Together, Espinal and El Bouazzaoui have been nominated to the Brigham Way campaign more than a dozen times – a record for the program – for going above and beyond to make BWH a better place for all who come through our doors. 

They, along with several other colleagues, were recognized earlier this week during a Brigham Way luncheon hosted by Brigham Health President Betsy Nabel, MD, in the Zinner Breakout Room. The event, held quarterly, honors the many ways in which BWHers care for patients and their families, visitors and each other.

“Thank you for exemplifying the Brigham Way every day,” Nabel told honorees on Sept. 25. “There are so many ways to show kindness to each other and make a difference. You each give your time, in your own ways, to help others, and for that I am truly grateful.” 

Nominations to the Brigham Way campaign can be submitted to the BWH Office of Strategic Communication on a rolling basis. Staff can nominate individual colleagues, as well as teams or themselves to the campaign. In addition, patients and their families can submit nominations. Recipients are photographed and work with a representative from Strategic Communication to create their Brigham Way phrase – one sentence that describes what working at the Brigham means to them. The phrases and photos are then shared with the Brigham community, as well as at the luncheon.

Raymond Anchan, MD, PhD, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was nominated by a grateful patient, who, in a thank-you note to her care team, wrote: “Dr. Anchan was the quarterback of our family plan and each step forward brought us closer and closer to a success story.”

Stephanie Peña, service coordinator in the Bretholtz Center for Patients and Families, was nominated by her colleagues in the Center for Patients and Families for her willingness to go above and beyond to assist patients and their families. 

Edward Miller, a chef in Food Services, was nominated by Nabel after she received a note from an appreciative customer who is a fan of Miller’s cooking. The customer was pleased with Miller’s attentive service and hot, delicious meal from the Garden Café. 

And in an extraordinary example, Brandon Cooper and Caitlin Murphy, of Police and Security, were nominated to the campaign after they were among the first to respond to a Code Blue OB and helped deliver a patient’s baby outside the 75 Francis St. entrance this summer. 

If you see someone going above and beyond their responsibilities to help a patient, visitor or colleague, email your nomination to TheBrighamWay@partners.org. More information about the Brigham Way campaign is available on BWHPikeNotes.org.