Brigham and Women's Hospital

We proudly recognize and celebrate the brave people who have served in the armed forces—both past and present. We are especially grateful for the veterans and military family members within our system who bring their dedication, leadership, and commitment to excellence into everything they do. We honor your service, sacrifice, and the many ways you continue to make a difference in our communities and workplaces. #VeteransMonth

Among the most urgent needs in healthcare today is the development of better, safer ways to care for older adults—a rapidly growing patient population. On Monday, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Mass General Brigham took an important step forward in meeting this need with the launch of the West Health Accelerator at Mass General Brigham. This bold new initiative is a collaboration among BWH, Mass General Brigham, and the West Health Institute—a medical research organization focused on healthcare and aging—aimed at transforming care for hospitalized seniors throughout the Mass General Brigham system and beyond. More than 100 guests gathered at BWH to celebrate the West Health Accelerator, where they heard about the impact and importance of this unique initiative from Emily Shea, Boston’s Age Strong Commissioner, as well as David F. M. Brown, MD, president, Academic Medical Centers, Mass General Brigham; Anne Klibanski, MD, president and CEO, Mass General Brigham; and Shelley Lyford, CEO and chair, West Health Institute. The event also included a panel discussion led by BWH President Giles W.L. Boland, MD, and featuring BWH clinician-scientists Zara Cooper, MD, MSc, and Rachelle Bernacki, MD, MS, co-directors of the West Health Accelerator, and Tim Lash, West Health Institute president. https://spklr.io/6048xkdq

#ResearchSpotlight! Christopher A. Cassa, PhD, and Richard Sherwood, PhD, discuss their work developing a new tool to predict the impact of genetic variants in this Brigham Clinical & Research News article.

#ResearchSpotlight! Hussain S. Lalani, MD, MPH, MSc, is the lead author of a paper published in JAMA investigating strategies to help clinicians and patients navigate prescription costs. Learn more:

November is #PancreaticCancerAwarenessMonth! Join us for a conversation with Dr. Thomas Clancy as he shares how Brigham and Women’s Hospital leads the way in minimally invasive robotic pancreatic surgery. Dr. Clancy discusses the benefits of robotic surgery for patients, especially those facing gastrointestinal or pancreatic cancers, the hospital’s commitment to training the next generation of robotic surgeons and his vision for the future of this groundbreaking program. https://spklr.io/6040x6FM

Veterans bring unparalleled skills, dedication, and a unique perspective to our team, and we are proud to have them as part of our community. To all Veterans, we thank you for your service. #VeteransDay

Jeff Karp, PhD, recently published an article for Psychology Today to discuss the power of your unconscious self, and how the influence in the digital age changes how we act. Learn more:

Congratulations to Pivel Morton on being a 2024 Latino Excellence Awards recipient! Pivel currently serves as the Executive Director of Southern Jamaica Plain Community Health Center (SJPCHC- Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) License Community Health Center) in Jamaica Plain, MA. Along with other members of the SJP leadership team, Pivel’s work focuses on the center’s mission of racial and social justice, dismantling structural racism through health equity analysis and advocacy, policy work and addressing inequity in the social drivers of health. This work has been more critical during these past four years as the pandemic exacerbated the inequities within our health systems and further exposed deeply embedded faults. Under Pivel’s leadership, the health center has deepened and expanded its commitment to racial justice and health equity work withing the BWH Primary Care Racial Justice and Liberation Steering committee which Pivel co-chairs and outside of the hospital system where Pivel’s team engages in multiple training and consultation partnerships across the city, state and country. On the award, she said, “It's an absolute honor to have been nominated by state Rep Samantha Monta?o as one of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus’ 2024 Latino Excellence Awardees! The State House’s Great Hall was energized and electric as we gathered to celebrate Latino changemakers and disruptors throughout the Commonwealth! Felicidades a todos, gracias por el reconocimiento y síguemos en la lucha resiliente y unidos! Proud to represent Latinos and Southern Jamaica Plain Community Health Center.”

Social media ads for wellness products tend to play on fears of missing out, of inadequacy, of being inferior, says Natalie Dattilo, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Brigham. “These social media trends don’t just affect our financial health,” Dattilo adds. “They keep us searching for something outside ourselves to fix our problems. We feel pressure to lean on untested products and methods of health and wellness when what you really need to do is partner with your doctor.” Health misinformation has always existed. But today, we live in an “infodemic”—an overabundance of information that obscures evidence-based guidance, especially on social media. Dattilo and other Brigham experts are tracking how health misinformation circulates online and how to protect yourself and combat its spread.

Learn how pacemakers play a role in the rhythm of the heartbeat, how they are implanted and their risks with Nathaniel Steiger, MD, a leading Mass General Brigham electrophysiologist. https://spklr.io/6041aZn9