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Community and hospital leadership and staff last week celebrated the opening of BWH’s new “front door” to the community—a storefront Human Resources office in Brigham Circle.
“This office is a great symbol of our faith and intvestment in this community,” said BWH President Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA, who cut the ceremonial ribbon with Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Matt Fishman, Partners vice president for Community Health, Lisa Ponton, JD, vice president of HR, and Beverley Sobers, director of Workforce Development.
The HR satellite office, which opened its doors for business last month, facilitates members of the community in applying for jobs, an especially important service as the hospital seeks to fill positions at the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center before its opening in 2008.
“Brigham and Women’s Hospital is devoted to giving patients the best care,” Menino said at the ceremony. “It’s also devoted to giving people a better future with the opportunity for a good job. Getting a good job is the greatest equalizer.”
Fishman spoke about the hope BWH offers to patients who are ill and the hope for better lives provided to prospective employees. “The office means that people who want to learn new skills and work smart and hard can get jobs that pay well and offer good benefits,” he said. “Jobs that make a real difference because they make this hospital—and this community—work. And jobs that offer a real chance to move up the career and wage ladder.”
The 741 Huntington Ave. office houses a welcoming reception area and space for five Workforce Development staff members to work.
“It’s not about the bricks and mortar,” Ponton said. “It’s about the passion we have to deliver this service to the community.”
Those services will expand to include access for Mission Hill residents to a liaison who will assess an applicant’s job-readiness skills and make appropriate referrals to a recruiter. In partnership with a community-based organization, the office aims to provide case management services to address problems, such as literacy, language and child care, that may prevent an individual from becoming employed.