BIDMC Celebrates Ninth Annual Latino Hispanic Achievement Awards

Each year, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) celebrates National Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month by recognizing staff members at BIDMC who have made significant contributions in advancing care for the Latino/Hispanic community. This year, three individual staff members and one team were recognized for their work in promoting, supporting and advocating for Latino/Hispanic patients and populations.

“Our culture is one that we must never take for granted, and to that end, we must continue to focus on diversity, inclusion and respect,” said BIDMC President Peter Healy. “You work hard every day to put our patients first and deliver on our mission of extraordinary care; you represent the very best of BIDMC, and we couldn’t be more proud of you.”

Event keynote speaker Eva Millona, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), reflected on her own experiences as an immigrant from Albania. Millona urged the audience to be active and involved members of their community, and to both welcome new immigrants, as well as expand their own cultural horizons.

Latino/Hispanic Achievement Awards Committee Chair Lucero Vega of BIDMC’s Research and Academic Affairs department introduced this year’s honorees to the standing room only crowd.

“Each year, the committee receives many nominations of staff who are positively impacting the Latino community both inside and outside the BID system,” said Vega. “I am sure you’ll be just as inspired by this year’s winners as we are – through their service and advocacy, they improve the lives of Latino patients, staff and the Latino community at large every day.”

This year’s honorees included:

• Elizabeth Molina Ortiz, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Charles River Community Health
• Anna Rose Johnson, MPH, Researcher, Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Shana Sporman, MS, RD, LDN, Director, Food Services
• The Syncope and Falls in the Elderly (SAFE) Lab Team (Laura Aponte Becerra, MD, Brahyan Galindo, MD, Jorge Trevino, MD and Freddy Alfaro, MD)

Each honoree expressed their gratitude for the recognition and their excitement to continue their work at the medical center and beyond.