From left, 55- and 50-year honorees: Donald P. Goldstein (55 years), Norman Hollenberg (50 years) and Frank Austen (50 years)

This spring at the Physician Recognition Dinner and Medical Staff Service Awards, physicians were lauded for their outstanding dedication to BWH and their patients—with one physician honored for 60 years of service—as well as their contributions to innovation, patient care, collaboration and many other areas.

S. James Adelstein, MD, PhD, of Radiology, topped the list of Service Award recipients with 60 years of service. Adelstein is the founding chief of Nuclear Medicine, the Paul C. Cabot Distinguished Professor of Medical Biophysics at his alma mater, Harvard Medical School; and an extraordinary role model, advisor and friend to generations of physicians and staff.

Donald Goldstein, MD, of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was honored for 55 years of service, in addtition to being named a Senior Distinguished Clinician (see below). K. Frank Austen, MD, and Gordon H. Williams, MD, of Medicine; Warren J. Becker, MD, and J. Gregory Kane, MD, of Obstetrics and Gynecology; and Norman K. Hollenberg, MD, PhD, of Radiology, were recognized for 50 years of dedicated service to BWH. In addition to these recipients with more than half a century of service, 64 physicians and scientists received awards for 30 years of service and above. More than 250 medical staff were given awards for five to 25 years of service.

Jeffrey Golden, MD, chair of the Department of Pathology and chairman of the BWPO, delivered the welcome address.

BWHC President Betsy Nabel, MD, thanked all physicians for their remarkable contributions in a video welcome. “Your compassionate expertise brings hope to our patients and their families. Your discoveries and innovations drive change in our labs, on our floors and across the globe. I’m so honored to count each one of you in the Brigham family—because of you, the Brigham is one of the best hospitals in the world,” she said.

In addition, six physicians and scientists were honored with BWPO Physician Awards. Jessica Dudley, MD, chief medical officer for the BWPO, presented the six recipients with their awards.

Clinical Collaboration

Christopher W. Baugh, MD, MBA, medical director of Operations in the Department of Emergency Medicine, received the Clinical Collaboration Award for his exceptional leadership, creativity and collaboration in defining clinical programs that extend the boundaries of traditional emergency medicine practice and improve efficiency, cost and quality of care for patients. Currently, Baugh is leading the design team for the ED expansion.

Clinical Community Service

Aaron L. Berkowitz, MD, PhD, director of the Global Neurology Program in the Department of Neurology, was honored with the Clinical Community Service Award. As part of a collaboration with Partners In Health, Berkowitz developed clinical education programs and resources for providers and patients in regions without access to neurologists, including Haiti, Malawi and Chiappas, Mexico. He is running the first neurology program in Haiti. In addition to his work abroad, he is also involved in the resident-run neurology consultation service of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless clinic, serving as a volunteer preceptor for an outpatient clinic staffed by BWH neurology residents.

Clinical Innovation

Frank C. Kuo, MD, PhD, director of Pathology Information Technology in the Department of Pathology, received the Clinical Innovation Award. Kuo has led assay development in the molecular diagnostics laboratory and implemented multiple assays that have improved cancer care. His most recent innovation, the Rapid Heme Panel (RHP), has transformed the care of patients with hematologic malignancies by providing a comprehensive survey of the genomic landscape of blood cells with results in three to five days. This enables providers to quickly make decisions even in the most urgent cancer care contexts: patients with new acute leukemia.

Leadership

Mariana Concepcion Castells Guitart, MD, PhD, director of the Drug Hypersensitivity and Desensitization Center in the Department of Medicine, received the James S. Winshall, MD, Leadership Award for founding and managing the BWH Allergy Drug Desensitization Program for 20 years. Castells challenged conventional wisdom that serious allergic-type adverse drug reactions meant that a patient had to forever abandon use of a medication. She focused on chemotherapy drugs used in breast and ovarian cancers, as these drugs may mean the difference between life and death for patients. She pioneered a diagnostic approach for an evidence-based evaluation of these drug reactions and developed the technique of drug desensitization to enable patients to continue using these medications through a process of incremental drug re-exposure under close medical supervision.

Award winners from left: Christopher W. Baugh; Mariana C. Castells; Susan Schilling; Donald P. Goldstein; Frank C. Kuo (missing Aaron L. Berkowitz)

Patient- and Family-Centered Care Award

Susan Schilling, MD, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, received the Patient- and Family-Centered Care Award. As a member of the department’s Urban Health Division, Schilling provides quality, culturally competent and affordable health care to women in urban neighborhood settings. She sees patients at Brookside Community Health Center and the South End Community Health Center. She also provides care at Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, New Mexico and in Gallup, New Mexico, with the Indian Health Service through the BWPO Outreach Program, to improve access to minimally invasive surgery to the Native American population. Her goal is to provide optimal care to every individual, regardless of race, income, gender, language or culture.

Senior Distinguished Clinician

Donald Peter Goldstein, MD, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was honored with the Senior Distinguished Clinician Award. For more than 50 years, Goldstein has provided the highest-quality clinical care while educating generations of gynecologists and serving as a model of integrity, compassion and generosity. In addition to delivering outstanding care, he also has made novel advancements to the medical and surgical management of gestational trophoblastic disease—a group of conditions in which tumors grow inside a woman’s uterus. He is a world leader in this area. Goldstein is also regarded as one the best surgical educators at BWH and serves as a mentor and role model to future generations of physicians by emulating an optimal standard of patient care and clinical innovation.