Fourth Annual Board of Visitors Meeting Convened

For new Board of Visitors members Tori and Jeff Constantino, the May 4 Board of Visitors annual meeting was a wonderful introduction to McLean Hospital.

“The event was terrific—we met exceptional people who care deeply about the same things we do, and we left feeling as though we had learned so much,” said Tori Constantino. “We are proud to be affiliated with McLean and look forward to doing more to support the hospital’s mission.”

In the four years since its creation, the McLean Board of Visitors has grown into a robust and dedicated group of nearly 200 individuals, all of whom share a keen interest in mental health issues and who serve as advocates for McLean. The event is a favorite, and over the years deep friendships have developed among members.

The half-day meeting includes opportunities to hear hospital updates from Scott L. Rauch, MD, McLean’s president and psychiatrist in chief, and to discuss clinical and scientific topics with McLean experts in a roundtable format.

“Every presentation and roundtable discussion was a hit,” said Jeff Constantino. “McLean is full of such incredible expertise—it was an inspirational day.”

Author and mental health advocate Mimi Baird delivered the keynote address. Ms. Baird’s father, Dr. Perry Baird, was among the first physicians to study the biochemical basis of manic depressive illness. Her recently published book He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird and His Daughter’s Quest to Know Him, weaves her own determination to understand her father together with his personal struggle to find treatment before his own heartbreaking descent into mental illness.

“I learned how damaging it is to keep mental illness a secret and my family suffered because of it,” said Baird. “I applaud McLean for working to end stigma and promote open and honest discussion about this difficult subject.”