Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital Nursing
About nursing at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital
Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital (BWFH) nurses are committed to providing compassionate, high-quality care that is centered on the unique needs of each patient and family. Building trusting relationships with patients and families is central to delivering exceptional nursing care, and we strive to ensure every patient feels safe, seen and cared for.
Nurses have an important role in improving the quality of care and the patient experience with their skills, knowledge and perspective. We support our nurses in pursuing innovation, research and quality improvement initiatives that will help us to advance the care we provide and contribute to evidence-based practice.
We are committed to recruiting and retaining excellent nurses and fostering a supportive environment for new nurses to transition to practice and for all nurses to participate in professional development opportunities.
We are honored to have received Magnet designation in 2019 and redesignation as Magnet with Distinction in 2024, recognizing nursing excellence and collaboration with multidisciplinary team members to deliver outstanding patient care.
Mission, vision and values
Our mission is to provide compassionate, high-quality, evidence-based, nursing care in a learning environment that meets the diverse needs of our patients, families and communities.
Our vision is to be the premier department of nursing in a community teaching hospital in the New England area.
Our values: All our nurses demonstrate a commitment to the profession of nursing through the core values of compassion, knowledge, collaboration and excellence.
Honors
Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital has been recognized for nursing excellence and the care delivered by interprofessional teams with numerous external awards and honors.
These include:
- Magnet with Distinction Designation: BWFH has twice achieved Magnet designation — the gold standard of nursing excellence in and high-quality patient care delivered by an entire institution — from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2019 and in 2024. In 2024, BWFH became the first hospital in Massachusetts and one of the first in the world to be designated Magnet with Distinction.
- Beacon Award for Excellence: BWFH’s Intensive Care Unit received the silver Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. Beacon units set the standard for excellence in patient care by collecting and using evidence-based information to improve patient outcomes, as well as patient and staff satisfaction.
- Practice to Transition Accreditation Program: Our Nora McDonough Nurse Residency Program — which provides a yearlong, comprehensive orientation to help nurses develop their skills and grow in their practice with a supportive cohort — achieved accreditation as a Practice Transition Program from the American Nurses Credentialing Center for demonstrating excellence in transitioning nurses to new practice settings.
Leadership
Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services
Karen Reilly, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, serves as chief nursing officer and vice president of Patient Care Services at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital.
Prior to joining Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, Karen spent 30 years working in clinical nursing and leadership roles at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She previously served as the associate chief nursing officer for Critical Care, Cardiovascular and Surgical Services, overseeing more than 100 critical care beds and 340 intermediate care beds, as well as more than 1,400 FTEs. She also served as a leader of the inpatient operations team.
During her time at the Brigham, Karen made immense contributions to the Department of Nursing and was part of many efforts to expand and improve patient care. She played an integral leadership role in the planning process and opening of the Shapiro Cardiovascular Center, as well as the expansion of the Neuro and Thoracic services, the ECMO program, Trauma Care and the mechanical support program.
She is a respected presenter who has published research on the effect of reflective practice on the nursing practice environment. She was elected to the Board of Directors for the Organization of Nursing Leaders, serving as MA State Representative. Karen earned her BSN from Saint Anselm College, her MBA from UMass Boston and her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Simmons College.
Executive Director, Center for Nursing Excellence
Bee Baldeo, MBA, serves as executive director for the Center for Nursing Excellence for Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital.
She also serves as executive director for Patient Care Services, including Nutrition and Rehabilitation Services at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as Spiritual Care Services and Interpreter Services for Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital.
Bee previously served as administrative director for the Center for Nursing Excellence, supporting the center’s operations, special projects, recognition programs and shared governance. Her prior roles during her 14-plus years at Brigham and Women’s Hospital also include business manager for Nursing and a special projects analyst in the Department of Medicine.
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Center for Nursing Excellence and Patient Care Services
Pamela Linzer, PhD, RN, CPHQ, NEA-BC, leads the Center for Nursing Excellence and Patient Care Services at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. The center encompasses education, scholarship, research, quality, informatics and other areas in support of advancing clinical nursing practice.
Pam also oversees Patient Care Services, which includes Nutrition, Rehabilitation, Spiritual Care, and Interpreter Services for Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital.
She previously led the Medicine division at the Brigham, including three Beacon Award-winning medical intermediate care units.
Pam joined the Brigham in 2021 from Winchester Hospital, a member of Beth Israel Lahey Health, where she served as associate chief nursing officer for inpatient nursing, nursing budget and resources and informatics. A published author and researcher, Pam is an expert in data-based approaches to facilitating improvement in quality and patient safety outcomes.
Senior Nursing Director, Critical Care, Inpatient Psychiatry and Nursing Operations
Maria Bentain-Melanson, DNP, RN, CCRN, is the senior nursing director of Critical Care, Inpatient Psychiatry and Nursing Operations at BWFH.
She works closely with leaders and staff in the ICU and inpatient psychiatry units to foster a supportive environment for staff and the delivery of compassionate, high-quality care to patients and loved ones.
Maria previously served as the nurse director of the Cardiac Surgery ICU and Intermediate Care Unit at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She began her career as a clinical nurse and held roles including staff nurse and educator in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Cardiac Surgery ICU before being appointed as nursing director.
In Maria’s 15 years as a nursing leader, she has focused intently on areas including quality improvement, staff satisfaction and retention and patient and family experience. She is deeply dedicated to improving patient outcomes and has published and presented on numerous quality efforts.
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Perioperative Services
Janet Gorman, MM, BSN, RN, oversees all aspects of Perioperative nursing at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, including the operating rooms, pre-operative areas, Weiner Center and the post-anesthesia care unit.
Her 30-plus years of nursing and leadership experience include serving as associate chief nursing officer of the Brigham’s Emergency Department and Float Pool and playing a critical role in the hospital’s response to emergent internal and external events. She has been instrumental in planning for the Emergency Department expansion and hospital-wide patient throughput initiatives.
Prior to joining the Brigham, Janet was a nursing director at Boston Medical Center, where she oversaw patient flow throughout the hospital.
Senior Nursing Director, Procedural Services
Kari Irwin, MSN, RN, RCIS, NE-BC, is the senior nursing director of Procedural Services for Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital.
In this role, Kari is focused on collaborating with multidisciplinary leaders to help maximize access for procedural patients and support the needs of care teams at BWH and BWFH.
She previously served as nursing director of the Procedural Recovery Unit at BWH, where she guided significant transformations to increase recovery access for patients. She also expanded resources through her oversight of a newly formed procedural float pool and procedural resource nurse role.
Her prior roles include clinical nurse and charge nurse in the BWH Cardiac Cath Lab, assistant nursing director of Interventional Cardiology at BWH and clinical nurse at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati and Trinity Hospital in North Dakota.
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Emergency Medicine
Anna Meyer, DNP, RN, leads emergency medicine nursing at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital.
She has dedicated her career to emergency medicine, serving most recently as interim senior nursing director of BWH Emergency Medicine. Over the past few years, Anna has worked in partnership with staff and multidisciplinary colleagues on the hospital’s Emergency Department expansion and multiple process improvement initiatives to enable BWH to continue caring for an increasingly high volume of ED patients.
Her prior roles include nursing director and assistant nursing director/flow manager in the BWH Emergency Department, as well as nursing manager of Emergency Services at South Shore Health.
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Inpatient
As associate chief nursing officer, Lynne Morrison, MS, RN, NE-BC, leads nursing practice in inpatient medical and surgical units, collaborating with interprofessional leaders and staff to ensure the highest quality care to patients. Lynne has led recent efforts to increase support and resources for staff who work on the night shift, recognizing the unique challenges staff may experience during this shift.
Prior to her current role, Lynne served as Inpatient Surgical Services director at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. Her experience also includes leadership roles as program manager for Development Care Coordination and Care Coordination manager for Surgery, Orthopaedics and Neurosciences at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in addition to leadership and clinical roles at other hospitals.
Nursing practice and patient care
Professional practice model
At Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, we believe high-quality patient care is only possible through teamwork.
Our nurses collaborate with a strong interdisciplinary team to support patients and families and incorporate principles of evidence-based practice, accountability, communication, shared governance, advocacy, lifelong learning, integrity and pursuit of excellence into the practice of nursing.
View our professional practice model
Shared governance
We believe that participative decision-making, highly effective teamwork, and excellence in patient and family care are best accomplished via a shared governance structure that encourages the voice of all nurses to be heard.
Awards and recognition
The DAISY Award for clinical nurses recognizes nurses who go above and beyond their regular responsibilities to make Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital a great place to receive care.
The DAISY Award for Nurse Leaders annually recognizes the incredible work of nurse leaders (including nurse directors, nursing supervisors, nurse educators, and program managers in the Department of Nursing).
The DAISY Team Award annually recognizes a nursing team that has made a profound difference in the lives of their patients and family members. The team demonstrates collaboration, clinical expertise and compassion to attain better patient and family outcomes.
The TULIP (Touching Unique Lives in Practice) Award recognizes our patient care associates, medical assistants, unit service technicians, surgical technologists, mental health workers, and unit secretaries for their tremendous contributions.
We welcome patients, families and staff members to submit TULIP nominations.
Commitment to quality and safety
Our Mass General Brigham goal is to lead the nation in providing the highest quality care For Every Patient. In alignment with this system goal, Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital nurses are contributing to delivering the highest quality care by engaging in strategies that improve the patient’s experience, and nursing quality outcomes, while also reducing mortality and hospital acquired infections. Using a High Reliability framework, nursing strategies are transforming care that is equitable, team-oriented, data driven, and rigorously focused on mitigating risk and continually improving care delivery.
ICU staffing ratios
Starting with the first quarter of 2016, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) now requires all Massachusetts ICUs to report quarterly Registered Nurse-to-Patient ratios on their websites.
Research and innovation
Clinical nurses are well positioned to participate in research studies, quality improvement efforts and innovative projects that advance patient care, the experience of patients and staff and the practice of nursing.
We support nurses in these pursuits with resources including:
- Nurse scientists who offer support, guidance and resources throughout every step of the process
- Estrellita & Yousuf Karsh Nursing Scholars Day, an annual event to showcase the innovative work of our nursing community
- A writing scholarship for clinical nurses and nurse educators who seek to publish their scholarly work
- A council within our shared governance structure that focuses on research and innovation
By adding to the body of evidence available and disseminating our work through publications and presentations, our nurses are helping to improve care at the Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital and beyond.
Nursing education and professional development
