Emma Biegacki and Denise Brennan Receive Service Excellence Awards

Emma Biegacki, MPH, program manager in the Section of General Internal Medicine, and Denise Brennan, medical coordinator in Medical Education, were honored with the 2025 Department of Internal Medicine Service Excellence Award at the Internal Medicine Staff Town Hall on April 30, 2025.

The award, established in 2017, is presented annually to two staff members whose work and behaviors support and promote the department’s goals, values, and mission.

“We are thrilled to honor Emma and Denise with service excellence awards this year. After the committee reviewed the nominations, Emma and Denise were chosen for their many attributes and contributions that make the department a success,” said Mark A. Holter, CPA, senior director of finance and administration.

Emma Biegacki, MPH, joined the department in 2019 as a program manager.

Biegacki oversees four high-impact programs in General Internal Medicine: Program in Addiction Medicine (PAM); Collaborative Behavioral Health and Addiction Medicine in Primary Care (CHAMP) Program; Substance Use Skills Training to Advance INtegrated care (SUSTAIN); and Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Connecticut Opioid REsponse (CORE).

“Emma immediately made a positive impact,” said David Fiellin, MD, professor of medicine (general medicine), of emergency medicine, and of public health, and director of the Program in Addiction Medicine. “She shows a remarkable degree of personal motivation to improve the quality of the work we do. She has a deep understanding of the clinical, research, educational, and policy domains and has improved the quality and efficiency of the work we can accomplish in all these areas.”

Most notably, Biegacki led a comprehensive strategic planning process for PAM, published in Substance Use and Addiction Journal, which resulted in goals and strategies for success. Biegacki has also been instrumental in obtaining federal funding to support education activities related to addiction medicine, and she has been involved in curriculum development.

“Emma is a remarkable leader who embodies the spirit of this award given her outstanding attributes that clearly promote the goals, values and vision of the Department of Internal Medicine. She is professional, efficient, forward-thinking and focused in her approaches to program development and problem solving and is a master at cultivating a collaborative and professional culture. We are deeply grateful for her contributions to our program and the department,” said Jeanette Tetrault, MD, professor of medicine (general medicine) and of epidemiology (chronic diseases), and associate director for the Program in Addiction Medicine.

Fiellin adds that Biegacki is a critical thinker and has the ability to take disparate information and coalesce it. “She thinks critically about the information and the prospective audience to develop the best implementation. She is a master at organization and timelines, assuring all components are addressed, on time and with attention to detail.”

Denise Brennan, who has been at Yale for over three decades, joined Yale Primary Care Residency Program (YPC) as a medical coordinator nearly 12 years ago.

“I have worked very closely with Denise since she was first recruited to be a medical coordinator for YPC,” said Stephen J. Huot, MD, PhD, professor of medicine (nephrology) and senior associate dean for Graduate Medical Education at Yale School of Medicine (YSM). “Denise has always been willing to go above and beyond and do ‘whatever it takes’ to get things done. She has managed both the straightforward and the complex situations with us, always with professionalism and thoughtfulness.”

As program coordinator, Brennan provides support for trainees and faculty. She is involved in all aspects of the residency program, from recruitment and interviews to being a point person for residents. Huot adds that Brennan is a trusted person for residents and always meets them with kindness and care.

“Denise’s dedication and commitment to the department are unmatched. She always ensures that everything is handled with quality and care, despite whatever challenges come her way,” said Joanna Whitehead, project manager, Medical Education. “She is practical, focused, and effective in handling innumerable matters.”

Brennan’s organizational skills are described as outstanding. She organizes complex orientation schedules for interns, among other events.

“Denise also helps with many other pieces of the program, including scheduling, interacting with private community offices for the residents, and coordinating and supporting the editors of the Yale Office-Based Medicine Curriculum, which is used by more than 400 resident training programs worldwide. Her outstanding organizational skills help us recruit some of the best residents in the country. To be honest, I could not have done the job of program director without her,” said John P. Moriarty, MD, professor of medicine, who served as director of the residency program from 2015 to 2024.

In 2024 Sarita Soares, MD, MHS, and Brad Richards, MD, MBA, were named residency program director and executive director, respectively. “We could not imagine stepping into our roles without Denise by our sides,” they said. “From recruitment to day-to-day operations, she is the steady force who keeps everything running smoothly. Denise is proactive, deeply caring, and consistently goes above and beyond to support our residents, faculty, and program.”

Grateful to work alongside Brennan, Soares and Richards added that her institutional knowledge and unwavering commitment have shepherded YPC through challenges and milestones alike.

The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale is among the nation's premier departments, bringing together an elite cadre of clinicians, investigators, and educators in one of the world's top medical schools. To learn more, visit: https://medicine.yale.edu/internal-medicine/