The Brigham chapter of the Association for Multicultural Members of Partners (AMMP) invites you to attend its annual celebration of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Join AMMP on Tuesday, Jan. 22, noon-1 p.m., in Bornstein Amphitheater, for a panel discussion on the “Impact of Serving Others.” The panel will discuss service in the context of empowering individuals, strengthening communities and developing solutions to many of today’s social and economic challenges.

The panel will include individuals who have dedicated decades of their lives to service: Michael Curry, immediate past president, Boston Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), board member, NAACP and senior vice president and general counsel at the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers; Kim Janey, Boston city councilor, District 7; Nia Evans, co-founder and director, Boston Ujima Project; and Shelita Bailey, director, Workforce Development and Volunteer Services, Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

All are welcome to attend. Lunch will be provided. This event will also be webcast.

Reminder: Stay Home If You Are Sick

The Brigham is seeing an increase in both influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases. Please remember to stay home if you are sick to avoid spreading respiratory viruses to patients or colleagues. Call Occupational Health Services at 617-732-6034 for guidance on when you can return to work. Visit BWHPikeNotes.org to learn more about infection prevention and control strategies.

Blood Drive Donors Needed, Feb. 1

The Kraft Family Blood Donor Center will host a blood drive at 15 Francis St. on Friday, Feb. 1, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Donate blood aboard the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham and Women’s Hospital Blood Mobile. All donations benefit patients at the Brigham and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Donors will receive a Kraft Family Blood Donor Center sweatshirt. To schedule an appointment, visit tinyurl.com/15francisfeb2019. For eligibility questions, email blooddonor@partners.org or call 617-632-3206.

Partners Clinicians Day, Feb. 1

Partners Clinicians Day is Friday, Feb. 1, 7:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m., at Partners HealthCare, 339 Revolution Drive, Assembly Row in Somerville. This is a continuing medical education program for Partners physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. The program will feature a keynote address, “Health System Digital Innovation Model,” by Aaron Martin of Providence St. Joseph Health, and three teaching sessions. Register and view the agenda here.

Register for the February Vacation Club

Registration for the February Vacation Club at the Brigham Backup Childcare Center opens Tuesday, Jan. 22, at noon, by phone only. To register, call 617-732-9543. February Vacation Club runs for one week, Tuesday, Feb. 19–Friday, Feb. 22. Children ages 5–12 of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute employees are eligible to participate. Cost is $80 per day or $300 for the four days. Limited spaces are also available for children ages 2–4. All reservations are prepaid and nonrefundable. Learn more.

There were so many shining moments throughout 2018, but what brings me the most joy this holiday season are the decorative birch trees displayed across our main campus. These trees celebrate our partnerships with dozens of organizations that support our friends and neighbors in our local community, providing vital services to improve their quality of life.

Each year, we strive to celebrate the holidays in a way that honors all traditions, faiths and cultures. This year, I believe we did just that! Seeing patients, visitors and our staff stop to read about these important community services and hearing people say how beautiful the trees are truly warms my heart. As one patient so eloquently put it, these trees “remind us all, especially at this time of year, that we are all connected to each other.”

Betsy Nabel, MD
President, Brigham Health

United Way Campaign
The Brigham’s 2018 United Way Campaign is underway. Staff have received direct, personalized emails with a link to their giving pages. Online donations can be made through payroll deduction, debit/credit card or check. Information tables will be hosted throughout the month on the Tower 2 mezzanine. The campaign will run through Nov. 22. Learn more.

Sock and Underwear Donation Drive, Nov. 13-Dec. 13
The Brigham Clinical Documentation Program and the Department of Quality and Safety are hosting a sock and underwear donation event to benefit the Friends of Boston’s Homeless. The Brigham community is invited to donate new men’s or women’s socks and underwear between Tuesday, Nov. 13, and Thursday, Dec. 13. Collection boxes will be located on the Brigham’s main campus at the following locations: One Brigham Circle, second floor kitchen; outside the Garden Café at 75 Francis St.; and the second floor of Shapiro, near the Shapiro Bridge.

Town Meeting, Nov. 14
Join Brigham Health President Betsy Nabel, MD, at the next Town Meeting: An Open Forum for Brigham staff. The meeting will consist of updates on important issues, followed by an open forum for discussion and Q&A. Wednesday, Nov. 14, noon-1 p.m., in Bornstein Amphitheater.

Coffee with Martha Jurchak, Nov. 16
The Brigham Young Professionals group welcomes Martha Jurchak, PhD, RN, executive director of the Ethics Consultation Service, to its next “coffee with” session. Attend to learn more about Jurchak, her interesting work at the Brigham and career in the field of clinical ethics. Registration is required. Refreshments will be provided. Friday, Nov. 16, 8-9 a.m., in the Hale Building for Transformative Medicine, Room 10-004. Learn more and register.

Lynne A. Johnson

The Brigham community and the Department of Radiology mourn the loss of Lynne A. Johnson, RT(R)(CV), who passed away suddenly on  Sept. 17. She was 62.

Ms. Johnson worked at the Brigham for 42 years, joining the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in 1976 as a student X-ray technologist. Holding several titles throughout her career, she most recently served as a special procedures technologist in Angiography and Neuro-Interventional Radiology in the Michael J. Davidson, MD, Hybrid Operating Room (OR) and the Advanced Multimodality Image Guided Operating (AMIGO) suite. Earlier in her career, she was assistant chief technologist for Angiography and Neuro-Interventional Radiology.

Beloved as a dedicated and caring colleague, mentor and friend, Ms. Johnson is remembered for her extraordinary work ethic, deep expertise in imaging and her gentle disposition.

Nancy Trane, RT(R)(CT)(MR), clinical manager for MRI in Radiology, who had known Ms. Johnson since they were students at Northeastern University more than four decades ago, remembered her friend and colleague’s profound commitment to helping others and steady leadership – both in and out of the OR.

“If you were her patient, you would have no idea whether it was the easiest case in the world or the hardest because Lynne always approached it with the same sense of calm and professionalism,” Trane said. “She was a prize to the Brigham. Wherever Lynne was, people wanted to be around her. She had a wonderful smile, she never slowed down and she always did what needed to be done.”

In addition to her skill as an interventional technologist, Ms. Johnson was regarded as a talented, patient teacher. Carol Upson, RT(R)(CV), CIC, clinical manager in Radiology at Brigham and Women’s Harbor Medical Associates, who worked with Ms. Johnson for 35 years, said she always could count on Ms. Johnson to take on the role of “super user” whenever a new piece of equipment or imaging technology was introduced.

“Lynne could learn anything, and she knew how to teach it, which is just as important,” Upson said. “She understood that everybody doesn’t learn the same way, and she could recognize someone’s needs and modify her teaching so they would be successful.”

Upson – who at different points in her career reported to Ms. Johnson and served as her supervisor – said she was in constant amazement at Ms. Johnson’s inexhaustible work ethic.

“In my opinion, she was the best interventional technologist there was,” Upson said. “She always pitched in and never complained – she just wanted to take care of her patients.”

Peter O’Rourke, RT(R)(VI), clinical manager in Angiography and Neuro-Interventional Radiology, who worked with Ms. Johnson for 15 years, also said Ms. Johnson was eager to support her colleagues and team at every opportunity.

“She was very flexible and understanding,” he said. “Even if all her assignments got shifted and her whole day changed, she would just say, ‘OK, let’s go.’”

Outside of work, Ms. Johnson enjoyed spending time with her family and friends, as well as several hobbies and interests, including tending to her chickens, beekeeping, traveling and baking.

Ms. Johnson is survived by her husband, Gary Tipson, and their children, Allison, Audrey, Chris, Emma and Heather, as well as many siblings, friends and other loved ones.

Members of the United Way committee, from left: Arismendy Santana, Labina Shrestha, Christian Comeau and Lisa Morrissey

How does winning New England Patriots tickets, Boston Red Sox tickets, a helmet signed by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, a TV or many other raffle prizes sound? They’re all part of the Brigham’s 2018 campaign to benefit United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.

Funds raised through the annual hospital-wide campaign, part of Brigham Health’s commitment to supporting the local community, are distributed by United Way to area nonprofits, with a focus on increasing opportunities for children and youth and bettering the financial stability of individuals and families.

The 2018 campaign, which runs from Wednesday, Oct. 31, through Thursday, Nov. 22, has adopted a superhero theme with the tagline encouraging donors to “be a hero for change.”

Beginning Oct. 31, staff will receive personalized emails with a unique link to their own United Way donation page. The page allows staff to make online donations through payroll deduction, credit/debit card or check. Paper pledge cards will also be available.

Throughout the campaign, staff will have the opportunity to visit United Way information tables at the Brigham’s main campus to learn more about the United Way campaign. Games and prizes will be available. The four tabling events will take place on the Tower 2 mezzanine from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Oct. 31; Monday, Nov. 5; Wednesday, Nov. 14; and Monday, Nov. 19.

This year’s campaign is led by Stan Ashley, MD, of the Department of Surgery, Lisa Morrissey, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, associate chief nurse of Peri-Procedural Areas, and Allen Smith, MD, MS, president of the Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization.

Among those excited for the campaign is Ean Corduff, of Police, Security and Parking, who is serving on this year’s United Way committee. Corduff said he’s grateful to be a part of an institution whose core values include helping others in need.

“The United Way supports a network of organizations that help change people’s lives for the better,” Corduff said.

Fellow supporter Labina Shrestha, MM, T-CHEST, of Environmental Services, said she gives to United Way not only because it helps improve the lives of individuals, but it also strengthens communities.

“There might be times when life crumbles down in an unexpected way for many, but United Way is here to give people the support they need to rise up and get back to living their dreams,” she said.

Learn more about the campaign.

‘Sex Differences and the Brain’  Symposium, Sept. 26

There are many differences between female and male brains. Such differences can have important implications for brain health. Learn more about this at the first Women’s Brain Initiative symposium: “Sex Differences and the Brain: Implications for Research, Health and Disease.” Wednesday, Sept. 26, 1-5:30 p.m., in the Hale Building for Transformative Medicine, third-floor conference center. For more information, email RBattle@bwh.harvard.edu.

HealthStream Mandatory Course Deadline, Sept. 30

BWH requires all employees to comply with mandatory education requirements as related to their job role. The 2018 Annual Mandatory Education courses are due Sunday, Sept 30. Content can be accessed via the Partners Applications icon. Select the “Utilities” folder, then click on HealthStream. For assistance, contact the IS Service Desk at 617-732-5927. For course assignment questions and issues, contact your department HealthStream administrator.

Honoring Women in Medicine Month

September is Women in Medicine Month. BWH is celebrating by sharing a photo collection on its social media channels. All women in medicine are invited to participate by sending their photos to BWHSocialMedia@partners.org. Use hashtags #WIMMonth and #WhataDoctorLooksLike when posting on your social accounts. Any photos with patients must have proper consent. Be mindful of private information that could inadvertently appear in the background.

Volunteers Needed: Discover Brigham

Brigham Health staff are needed to help volunteer at the upcoming Discover Brigham event on Wednesday, Nov. 7, to assist with registration, lunch setup, greeting attendees, attending sessions and the evening reception. To volunteer, visit DiscoverBrigham.org/Call-for-Volunteers.

From left: Kristen Koch, Bob Donaghue and Erin Sturgeon

The holiday spirit was in the air last week during BWH’s annual Toys for Tots drive. In just three days, the Brigham collected more than 1,000 toys and $1,400 in cash and check donations, thanks to the generosity of staff, patients and visitors.

The drive has become a Brigham tradition – one upheld by retired U.S. Marine Col. Bob Donaghue, former operations manager for BWH Security and Parking, along with the help of a team of volunteers, for 12 years.

Led by the U.S. Marine Corp. Reserve, the national Toys for Tots drive began in 1946 and has since grown exponentially. Last year, 18 million toys were collected and donated to 13 million families nationwide.

“Marines are more sentimental than you would imagine, and knowing there are children who don’t have toys makes many Marines feel like crying,” said Donaghue, who wears his Marine Corps dress uniform every year during the Brigham toy drive. “So, instead of crying, we collect toys.”

Donations fill a red sleigh in the lobby at 75 Francis St. By the end of this year’s drive, it overflowed with a variety of colorful toys, including board games, soccer balls and dolls. One hundred Beanie Babies – donated by Ron M. Walls, MD, Brigham Health executive vice president and chief operating officer – lined nearly every surface.

“I donated because it was an easy way to put a smile on a child’s face,” said Nancy Toscano, a medical technologist in the Department of Pathology who donated a Star Wars action figure and a children’s toy tool set.

Once the drive ends each year, Donaghue packs the donated toys into boxes and delivers them to the local U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. He uses the cash and check donations to purchase more toys that are also donated to Toys for Tots.

One donation box has been left at Pat’s Place restaurant at 15 Francis St. until Friday, Dec. 22, for those who would still like to contribute. These donations will be given to children in need from the local community.

For more information about the Greater Boston Toys for Tots drive or to make a monetary donation, visit boston-ma.toysfortots.org.

Thanks to donations made during last year’s BWH United Way campaign, staff raised nearly $198,000 in support of programs that help families in our region avoid homelessness, obtain housing, gain job skills and/or job placement, better prepare children for kindergarten and help students stay in school and graduate.

BWH partners with United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley through an annual hospital-wide fundraising campaign. United Way distributes the funding to local nonprofits to improve the conditions of communities that BWH serves, with a focus on increasing opportunities for children and youth and bettering the financial stability of individuals and families.

The 2017 campaign, which runs from Monday, Oct. 30, to Wednesday, Nov. 22, has adopted a Star Wars theme with the tagline encouraging donors to “be a force for change.”

Beginning Oct. 30, BWHers will receive direct, personalized emails with a link to their own giving pages. Online donations can be made through payroll deduction, credit card or check. Printed pledge cards will also be available.

Lisa Morrissey, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, associate chief nurse of Peri-Procedural Areas, Stan Ashley, MD, chief medical officer, and Allen Smith, MD, MS, president of the Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization, are co-chairs of the campaign.

Donors will have the opportunity to win raffle prizes, including an autographed New England Patriots helmet, mountain bikes, a flat-screen TV, Boston Bruins tickets, one month of free on-site parking (main campus or 850 Boylston St.) and more.

Panelists discuss how health care, public safety, legal and community groups can collaborate to curb opioid misuse. From left: Mike Kelleher, Jennifer Rowe, David Faling, Claire Twark, Stephanie Scena, Wenhui Yang and Vicki Lowe.

BWH patient Stephanie Scena knows she might not be alive today if it weren’t for the many resources available in the local community to help her cope with a substance use disorder.

On May 17, Scena joined a panel of Brigham clinical experts, local officials and medical professionals from Foxborough to discuss the challenges of substance use disorder. During the event, broadcast on television and online by Foxboro Cable Access, Scena opened the discussion by speaking about her 15-year struggle with alcohol, opiates and other drugs and her path to recovery.

“I look back and can’t believe I’ve been sober for almost one year,” Scena said. “I’ve changed everything. I’ve changed the people I spend my time with, and I’ve changed my career. Most importantly, I’ve changed me and what’s in my heart.”

Fellow panelist Claire Twark, MD, who also participated in the discussion and is Scena’s former psychiatrist, emphasized that substance use disorder needs to be talked about openly and honestly in communities.

“Patients like Stephanie who are willing to discuss their struggles with addiction are inspirational and can also help to reduce stigma towards those with substance use disorders,” said Twark, of the Partners HealthCare Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship.

Collaboration at the Community Level

In addition to Scena and Twark, the panel included David Faling, MD, medical director of Brigham and Women’s Primary Care at Foxborough; Mike Kelleher, deputy fire chief of Operations at Foxborough Fire Department; Jennifer Rowe, Esq., assistant district attorney at the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office; and Wenhui Yang, LMHC, program director at Riverside Emergency Services. It was moderated by Vicki Lowe, executive director of the Foxborough Council on Aging and Human Services.

Speakers talked about warning signs, support strategies and how medical, legal, public safety and community organizations are coming together to tackle the opioid crisis.

One example they highlighted: Norfolk County was the first in the nation to require that police and fire departments carry naloxone – a fast-acting treatment used to reverse opioid overdoses – in every cruiser, engine and ladder truck, Rowe said.

In addition, a coalition of community advocates known as SAFE (Substance Abuse Free Environment) has partnered with the town’s police and fire departments, schools, businesses and health care providers. The group focuses on understanding substance misuse in Foxborough and developing programs to help combat it.

On the clinical side, Twark spoke about the work she and her colleagues have done at the Brigham to address the opioid crisis, including training more physicians to prescribe buprenorphine – a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. There is also more focus on the use of motivational interviewing techniques with patients who have substance use disorders. Staff have also been trained to call Addiction Psychiatry when patients present with endocarditis, an infection of the inner lining of the heart valves that can result from injection drug use.

Cindy Peterson, MBA, executive director of Brigham and Women’s/Mass General Health Care Center in Foxborough, said she’s thrilled the panel has generated discussion in the community.

“The opioid crisis impacts all areas of every community, and Brigham and Women’s/Mass General Health Care Center is excited to support this effort of providing families and those seeking recovery the resources, tools and hope they need in the face of this epidemic,” she said.

To view the recording of the panel discussion, visit fcatv.org/opioid.

Student volunteers gather with symposium guest Meredith Vieira (center) and BWH’s Jeff Robbins (back row, second from right).

For a family member of someone with Alzheimer’s disease, visiting hours at a nursing home can be among the more difficult moments they spend with their loved one.

“The experience most families have is that they dread going to the facility – and when they go, they stay for as short a time as possible – because the person they’re seeing isn’t the person they know, and they don’t know how to communicate with them,” said Jeffrey Robbins, LICSW, a clinical social worker in BWH’s Department of Neurology.

Helping families bridge that communications gap wasn’t one of the original goals of National Alzheimer’s Buddies, a volunteer organization Robbins founded in 2015, but the continued success of the program has made it a new area of focus for the group. The mission of National Alzheimer’s Buddies, which held its third symposium in Cambridge on April 1, is to alleviate some of the isolation and social disengagement experienced by people with intermediate- and late-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Student volunteers in the program engage in weekly visits with their “buddies,” who live in long-term care facilities.

Volunteers organize events with their buddies’ families, such as brunches, but Robbins would like to focus on families even more. He said the communications skills and knowledge students develop through the program would be incredibly useful to share with their buddies’ family members. His hope in the coming year is to have volunteers provide tips families can use to have more successful visits with their loved ones.

“What I think we’ve created, although not by design, is this army of student volunteers who can really help this population and their family members,” said Robbins.

National Alzheimer’s Buddies grew out of the merger of local chapters at Harvard College and Gordon College. Robbins served as the senior advisor for both, and he continues in that capacity with the Harvard chapter. Now, the national group spans 10 chapters at universities and colleges nationwide, and three new chapters are expected to launch this fall.

At this year’s symposium, more than 100 attendees from around the country – comprising volunteers, advocates and experts – exchanged ideas and experiences. For Robbins, the most memorable moment that day was giving out the first Robert L. Berger Compassionate Care Award, named in memory of the national organization’s co-founder.

Robbins and Scott McGinnis, MD, of the Department of Neurology, gave individual presentations about Alzheimer’s research and care. Both also participated in a panel discussion moderated by talk show host and advocate Meredith Vieira. Students from various chapters also gave updates and shared personal stories highlighting their experiences.

Volunteers from Haiti and the U.S., including BWH’s Anne-Marie Armand (center, in purple scrubs) and Hubertus Kiefl (far right)

During a recent medical mission to Haiti, Brookside Community Health Center physician Hubertus Kiefl, MD, and a small team cared for approximately 700 patients over four days.

Kiefl was joined by 13 care providers and volunteers from BWH, a Haitian clinic and the Anastasie Aubourg Foundation, a Norwood-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting education and improving health in Haiti. They traveled to the town of Les Anglais, located in the southwestern region of Haiti, to provide acute care to people of all ages.

This was the third trip to Haiti that Kiefl, medical director of the foundation, participated in. He said the latest trip was the most difficult, both emotionally and physically, as he witnessed firsthand how Hurricane Matthew, which struck southwestern Haiti last October, devastated residents, especially those who live in and near Les Anglais.

“I’m grateful we were able to bring much-needed medications, medical supplies and food to children and families who are facing so much devastation,” Kiefl said. “I’m so glad that we could be there to care for others. That’s what we went to medical school for – to help others feel better. That’s the essence of medicine.”

The team cared for people with various conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes and malaria. In addition, clinicians and other volunteers worked with a Haitian urologist who joined the mission and performed five surgeries.

The team saw a large pediatric population and cared for women who were pregnant or breastfeeding. Kiefl said the team also provided health education to patients, including breastfeeding techniques.

Kiefl and his colleagues provided these services at a clinic in Les Anglais. Although the facility normally has one doctor who works a half-day each week, the closest hospital is two hours away. Many residents rely on the local clinic for medical services.

Anne-Marie Armand, LPN, of Brookside, is Haitian and was able to translate for many of the patients in the clinic. She was happy to help others in need and hopes to go back to Haiti soon on another mission.

“It was a feeling of fulfillment for me,” Armand said. “The patients were extremely grateful.”

The team was also able to bring donations of household items and toys to Haiti, including 500 toothbrushes, 800 pairs of reading glasses and 350 stuffed animals, as well as generic medications. The team also visited a local school and donated various school supplies.

Thanks to generous donors and a dedicated campaign committee, BWH raised $197,807 in support of those in need during the 2016 United Way campaign. During the campaign, which ran Nov. 1 though Dec. 9, donors were entered to win a host of raffle prizes, including a New England Patriots helmet signed by Julian Edelman, a mountain bike, a TV, gift cards to local restaurants and more. Every year, donations to the BWH United Way campaign help local families afford basic needs, such as food and heating oil, as well as programs for affordable housing, sustainable employment and youth opportunities.

The ED staff’s shining moments this year were led by Eileen Keough, an administrative assistant in the Department of Emergency Medicine.

This fall, the ED got involved with John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Jamaica Plain by donating back-to-school supplies. This opportunity for giving took hold, and staff wanted more opportunities to support our neighborhood school. The ED organized MittenFest in November, collecting more than 300 hats and mittens that were given to the children at the school.

The department then made a pledge to “adopt” the same school for Christmas. We reached out to the school administration to make wish list of Christmas gifts for the neediest students. The school principal, nurse and a social worker compiled a list of homeless families whose children attend the school and will not have a Christmas without our help. We delivered the gifts, with help from Fallon Ambulance, on Dec. 19. The faculty and staff at John F. Kennedy Elementary School were grateful for our department’s philanthropy toward a student population in great need.

Janet Gorman, MM, BSN, RN
Nurse Director, Department of Emergency Medicine

The nurses from the Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) Program organized a Sock Drive for Friends of Boston’s Homeless. CDI nurses collected more than 700 pairs of new socks, which were donated to the shelter on Dec. 16. The shelter distributes more than 8,000 pairs of socks annually.

Donation boxes were located on Shapiro 9 on 10 and near the Shapiro 2 information desk from Nov. 19 to Dec. 16. The team was inspired by the great response by all the BWH employees who donated, with special thanks to the Shapiro 9 and 10 staff who alone collected over 180 pairs.

Thanks to everyone who participated! We are already planning ways to make our sock drive bigger and better next year.

Deb Jones, RN; Julia Rattigan Curtin, RN; Ellen Downing, RN; Carol Harrington, RN; Cheryl Codner, RN; Cindy Simon, RN; and Andrea Kelly, RN, Program Director
Clinical Documentation Improvement Program

Students from Tobin Elementary School in Mission Hill try on knitted hats donated this year by volunteers at BWH and beyond.

Students at Tobin Elementary School in Mission Hill were overjoyed when they got to pick out knitted hats during the annual Caps for Kids event, one of several charitable events and drives BWHers have contributed to this holiday season.

For more than 25 years, Joan Casby, a senior physical therapist at the Brigham, along with other volunteers from BWH, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and elsewhere, collect handmade hats, mittens, scarves and other warm winter items and donate them to the local community.

On Dec. 14, 500 knitted hats and 20 scarves were distributed to the Tobin students. Casby said there are over 300 volunteers at BWH and DFCI who knit, crochet and sew their items. In total, 46 locations in and around Boston will receive warm winter items this year, including Boston Public Schools, early education centers, hospitals and community health centers.

Established in 1989 at the Brigham and 1999 at DFCI, Caps for Kids has donated tens of thousands of hats since its inception, which includes more than 12,000 hats this year.

“This is truly a team effort,” Casby said. “We find a head for every hat and something for everyone. The faces and excitement of the children and staff make all our efforts worthwhile.”

Here are some other ways BWHers are giving back this season:

Toys for Tots

A sleigh in the main lobby overflows with donations for Toys for Tots.

In just three days this month, the Toys for Tots drive at BWH filled a sleigh in the main lobby with more than 1,000 toys and $1,448 in donations, thanks to the generosity of staff, patients and visitors.

With the help of a team of volunteers led by retired U.S. Marine Col. Bob Donaghue, former operations manager for BWH Security and Parking, donated toys were packed into large boxes on Dec. 9 to be delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program.

Welcome Winter Food Drive

Preston Dunphy, Kathy Bertone, Helen Thompson, Bob Donaghue and John McGonagle kick off the annual Welcome Winter Food Drive.

The red sleigh in the 75 Francis St. lobby is now filling up with food during the annual Welcome Winter Food Drive. From now until Dec. 19, BWHers can drop off canned, boxed and other nonperishable food items at the sleigh. The food drive benefits the Parker Hill/Fenway ABCD Emergency Food Pantry in Mission Hill.

Bringing the Magic of the Holidays to BWH

For the 35th consecutive year, Jim Nentwig’s family and volunteers will present patients with flowers, gifts, knitted hats and blankets around Christmas. Nentwig first dressed up as Santa (and his children as elves) when his wife, Elizabeth, was a cancer patient at BWH in 1982. He brought gifts for all of the patients on her unit. Elizabeth asked her husband to continue the tradition after her death, which he has, facilitating the donation of hundreds of gifts to patients and staff, which now get delivered by many of his family members and volunteers dressed as Santa and elves here at BWH and elsewhere in the area.

If you know of a winter drive or giving opportunity that is being organized at BWH, or would like to submit a holiday photo taken at BWH for inclusion in the holiday gallery, email BWHBulletin@partners.org.

Though Hurricane Matthew has passed, the devastation it wreaked in southern Haiti is ongoing – and getting worse by the day, said Regan Marsh, MD, MPH, an attending physician in BWH’s Department of Emergency Medicine and director of Infrastructure, Biomed and Pharmaceuticals at Partners In Health (PIH).

Last month, Hurricane Matthew, one of the most severe storms to hit the Caribbean in a decade, left hundreds of thousands of Haitians in need of emergency assistance. The storm carried winds of up to 140 miles an hour and resulted in an estimated 40 inches of rainfall.

Most of southern Haiti’s farmlands were destroyed, leaving residents without crops and livestock. The region is also seeing a spike in cholera cases, due to contaminated water. Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by drinking water or eating food from sources that have been contaminated with bacteria.

“Even before the hurricane, people were teetering on malnutrition because the harvest has been so poor in the area for several years,” said Marsh. “Without any backup resources, people are struggling.”

The hurricane destroyed homes and parts of the southern region’s main hospital, Hôpital Immaculée Conception, in Les Cayes.

Staff from BWH, Partners HealthCare and PIH are working together, from Boston and on the ground in Haiti, to assist Haitian clinicians.

Marsh and her colleagues have been gathering donations of equipment for the hospital, such as beds and lab instruments. PIH is also purchasing medications and other supplies.

Joia Mukherjee, MD, MPH, of BWH’s Division of Global Health Equity and PIH chief medical officer, said Hôpital Immaculée Conception is offering food and free medications to patients in need. Social workers and mental health staff are on hand to support patients and providers. In addition, PIH donor funds will help the hospital repair its roof, restore electricity and stock medical supplies.

Local clinicians, with support from BWH, PIH and other institutions, are also working to ensure medical supplies are available at PIH-supported health centers and cholera treatment facilities in Haiti’s central region, located north of Port-au-Prince, as an influx of patients from southern Haiti have come there seeking care.

Louise Ivers, MD, MPH, of the BWH Division of Global Health Equity and senior health and policy advisor for PIH, and Mukherjee traveled to Haiti after the hurricane to help curb the spread of cholera.

Michelle Morse, MD, MPH, assistant program director for the BWH Internal Medicine residency program and PIH’s deputy chief medical officer, says the way BWH works so closely with PIH to support Haiti is a tremendous model.

“While much more still needs to be done to improve health care in Haiti, we know that we will be most successful by supporting our Haitian colleagues whose commitment to saving lives will be Haiti’s future,” she said.

Outside of the hurricane response, BWH also has several ongoing initiatives around sustainability and long-term support for Haiti, according to Jennifer Goldsmith, MS, MEd, director of Administration for the Division of Global Health Equity.

“We are honored to work as partners with our colleagues in Haiti, whether in the face of tragedy or in daily collaboration on health system strengthening,” Goldsmith said. “As an organization, we have a long-standing commitment to working together, and we are honored to play an important role.”

From left: Campaign co-chairs Allen Smith, Lisa Morrissey and Stan Ashley

Thanks to donations made during last year’s BWH United Way campaign, 654 families avoided homelessness or obtained housing, 390 people gained job skills and/or job placement, 234 children were better prepared for kindergarten and 506 students received support to help them stay in school and graduate.

“Every dollar that’s donated helps to provide services and programs to improve the quality of life for children and families in need,” said Lisa Morrissey, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, interim chief nursing officer and senior vice president of Patient Care Services. “Our donors’ generosity goes a long way.”

BWH partners with United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley through a hospital-wide fundraising campaign. United Way distributes the funding to local nonprofits to improve the conditions of the communities that BWH serves, focusing on increasing opportunities for children and youth and bettering the financial stability of individuals and families.

The 2016 campaign, which launches on Tuesday, Nov. 1, will run through Tuesday, Nov. 22. Morrissey, along with Stan Ashley, MD, BWH chief medical officer, and Allen Smith, MD, MS, BWPO president, serve as this year’s co-chairs of the campaign. The goal this year is to raise $200,000. Last year, BWH raised more than $206,000 for United Way.

Beginning Nov. 1, BWHers will receive direct, personalized emails with a link to their own giving pages. Online donations can be made through payroll deduction, credit card or check. Printed pledge cards will also be available.

This year, donors will have the opportunity to win a host of exciting prizes, including a New England Patriots helmet signed by wide receiver Julian Edelman, a Nest Thermostat and more.

Smith, who has served as co-chair for four years, says he supports United Way because it identifies local organizations that will have the biggest impact on those in our community facing poverty, homelessness, barriers to education and other issues.

“Being part of a community means taking care of each other, even if we don’t know who is on the receiving end of our support,” said Smith. “Each year, we are inspired by BWHers who carry this out with generosity and kindness during the United Way campaign. We hope the Brigham will once again show its support this year for community members in need.”

Local artist Tom Stocker, whose artwork is featured in the building, chats at the breakfast.

On Sept. 22, BWH hosted a community event at 60 Fenwood Road to showcase how the new building, now named the Building for Transformative Medicine, will fuel collaboration, accelerate breakthroughs and transform patient care. Lawmakers, government officials, civic leaders and local community members in attendance enjoyed a hot breakfast, heard from BWH leaders and had the opportunity to tour the facility.

“All of us here at Brigham and Women’s Hospital are deeply committed to transforming the future of medicine—and this building is where we’ll make it happen,” said BWHC President Betsy Nabel, MD.

Other speakers included Wanda McClain, vice president of the Center for Community Health and Equity, who noted the project has invested in the local community in more ways than one. Its budget includes funding for 10 grants for local organizations developing programs to address behavioral health in community settings, workforce development and racial equity.

Paul Anderson, MD, PhD, BWHC chief academic officer and senior vice president of Research, described how the new building will advance research. Ron M. Walls, MD, BWHC executive vice president and chief operating officer, thanked the thousands of people whose hard work made the building a reality. He also highlighted the artwork selected for the building and thanked the artists, many of whom were in attendance. 

“This has been a thoughtful project, and it is one that we are confident will foster translational medicine and solve neurologic, orthopedic and rheumatologic puzzles,” Walls said. “In addition, many patient advisors were involved in the planning and design of the building from the beginning, sharing insights that enabled us to incorporate the patient and family perspective into the project.”