Bernazzani receives Bezanson Patient Safety Award

The Susan Bezanson Patient Safety Award is presented annually to a Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital employee who demonstrates superior levels of excellence and the same dedication to patient safety and quality assurance that Sue Bezanson exhibited. This year’s recipient, announced during the annual Employee Service Awards, is Medical Technologist Jeannine Bernazzani, MT(ASCP).

Bezanson was once described as an unrelenting spirit with a passion for both the great outdoors and her career in transfusion medicine. She was focused on patient safety and quality assurance, spearheading numerous patient safety initiatives at BWFH that helped shed light on the vital role of ancillary services in patient care. She was also a recipient of the Dr. Norman L. Sadowsky Award for Excellence prior to her death from breast cancer in 2008.

Like Bezanson, Bernazzani is dedicated to patient safety. She was nominated for the award by a co-worker who wrote, “Jeannine has worked at BWFH in the laboratory for over 30 years. Her character exemplifies every quality of compassion and caring, towards patients care at BWFH and her co-workers as well. Not only is she a friend and smiling face to every single one of her co-workers, she is dedicated to the highest level of patient care. She has guided me and numerous others, as a mentor, through various stressful judgement calls, and always has the patience to listen and teach.”

For Bernazzani, receiving the Susan Bezanson Patient Safety Award is personal. “I am honored to have been chosen to receive the Susan Bezanson Patient Safety Award,” she says. “It means so much to me because I was fortunate enough to have worked with Sue and know personally how passionate she was about everything she did. This award serves as an affirmation to me of the importance of the work that is done in our laboratory and as validation that this work is valued and respected.”