Dear Colleagues:

As we embark upon another year that carries the promise of new breakthroughs and achievement, we can take a satisfying look back at 2002 and reflect on some remarkable accomplishments. This past year, surgeons performed the hospital’s second quadruple transplant - a milestone that no other institution has yet to reach. Our program in Fetal Therapy was initiated with in utero valvuloplasty for aortics stenosis and exit repair of a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Researchers have redefined the risk factors associated with heart attacks and indentified c-Reactive Protein as a trigger.Epidemiologists have refined the relative risks and merits of Hormone Replacement Therapy. We have provided remarkable care through new technology born of remarkable research. We continue to proudly build upon the legacy of Brigham and Women’s Hospital as an institution of extraordinary intellectual vigor, sustained by a team of talented investigators, translators and clinicians.

Yet beyond the historic milestones and defining medical research that emanates from this incredible institution, our focus returns centrally to the very definition of our profession. We chose to become physicians, leaders and researchers to impact the lives of the patients that we serve. There is no better way to leave a lasting legacy than by positively impacting the patient’s experience while they are in our care.

In the weeks and months ahead, you will be hearing more and more about our improvement initiatives, especially as they relate to patient satisfaction and providing a compassionate environment for our patients to receive care.

All caregivers share in this responsibility to make BWH a warmer, friendlier environment that provides emotionally supported care to all of our patients and to members of their families. Those who enter our hospital every day share in the pain, sorrow, hope and gratitude that have come to characterize our mission and distinguish our calling.

Despite the harried pace of our daily lives, if we can but remember to walk in our patients’ shoes, providing for the totality of their needs will follow naturally.

Sincerely,

Andy Whittemore, MD
Chief Medical Officer