June 20, 2003

MGH caregivers fight poverty on the ball field

MGH physicians and caregivers had an opportunity to help fight poverty — and have their childhood sports dreams fulfilled — when they played softball June 5 at Fenway Park. Partners HealthCare was among 18 Boston-area employers who contributed funds to participate in the sixth annual Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) Field of Dreams benefit.

Partners kicked off the daylong event with a 7:30 am game against the ABCD All Stars. Field of Dreams raises funds for ABCD, the city's oldest anti-poverty agency. ABCD serves approximately 100,000 low-income Boston residents and provides fuel assistance, day care, job training and other services.

The wet weather didn't dampen the Partners team (shown above) spirit, but spirit alone wasn't enough to beat the host team. Final score: ABCD 8, Partners 4. David Torchiana, MD, chairman and CEO of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, and Bruce Chabner, MD, medical director of the MGH Cancer Center, scored three of Partners' four runs. Other team members from the MGH were Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH; Frank Haluska, MD, PhD, of the MGH Hematology/Oncology Unit; Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, senior vice president for Patient Care Services and chief nurse; Brit Nicholson, MD, chief medical officer; James Cusack, MD, of MGH Surgical Oncology; Dean Donahue, MD, of MGH Surgery; Lily Awad, MD, of MGH Psychiatry; and David Ryan, MD, of the MGH Hematology/Oncology Unit.