Community advocates honored at Butler Hospital fundraiser

PROVIDENCE – At Butler Hospital’s fundraiser, A Gallery Affair, Butler’s President and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Lawrence Price presented awards to two community members, Dr. Robert J. Westlake and G. Wayne Miller, for their contributions to the hospital and mental health in Rhode Island. The fundraiser, held at the Providence Art Club on Nov. 9, drew a crowd of 150 guests, the hospital reported.

Westlake received the 2016 Corporation Member of the Year award, an award presented each year to one of the 350 corporation members who comprise Butler Hospital Corp. Recognized for supporting Butler and advocating for the hospital’s work and service to the community, Westlake has been affiliated with Butler Hospital since 1973. During his tenure as a psychiatrist and administrator, he has been credited with creating Butler’s partial hospital program and helping establish the education program for psychiatry residents. He is a professor emeritus of psychiatry and human behavior at The Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University.

G. Wayne Miller, a reporter with the Providence Journal and author of several books, received the Lila M. Sapinsley Community Service Award, an annual award recognizing a community member for his or her personal achievements and contributions to mental health and behavioral health care in Rhode Island. Miller was honored for his longtime advocacy for individuals affected by mental health issues, developmental disabilities and other areas of brain health, helping to break down the stigmas associated with mental health issues and challenges. He began covering mental health and developmental disabilities for the Providence Journal in 1984, shortly after he came to the newspaper. Over the span of his Providence Journal career, he has won more than 12 awards for his coverage of mental health and developmental disabilities. This year, he wrote about schizophrenia, suicide and a front-page feature on Alzheimer’s disease that highlighted and greatly impacted the work of the hospital’s Memory and Aging Program.

“The funds raised at the event [$65,000] will support an area of great need at the hospital – insuring safety and comfort for the most vulnerable individuals – patients on our inpatient units,” said Sara Masri, philanthropy officer for Butler Hospital Foundation.

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Patricia A. Thompson, of Piccerelli Gilstein, and John D. Sinnott, of Gilbane Building Co., co-chaired the event, whose top sponsors included Cox Business, Professional Ambulance, Sodexo and an anonymous donor. The Butler Hospital Foundation organized the event. Butler Hospital, a Care New England facility, is the state’s only private, nonprofit psychiatric and substance abuse hospital serving seniors, adults and adolescents in Rhode Island and southeastern New England.

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