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August 1, 2018
The $100 million Campaign for McLean Hospital was McLean’s first comprehensive philanthropic campaign. More than 6,000 generous supporters contributed to the effort which ended early and surpassed its goal.
Every gift, large and small, helped the hospital go “Above and Beyond” to create seven Centers of Excellence and has allowed the hospital to expand clinical services, fund cutting-edge research, reinforce world-class leadership, train young clinicians and scientists, purchase state-of-the-art equipment, reduce the stigma of psychiatric illnesses, and direct flexible resources where they are most needed.
The impact of this campaign is felt throughout the hospital and has helped advance McLean’s mission of improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness.
“Above and Beyond” is our report on all that this campaign has helped accomplish at McLean as we strive to create a future where mental health disorders are prevented and even cured.
Learn about the campaign below or read more in the full impact report.
Center Chief: Dost Öngür, MD, PhD, William P. and Henry B. Test Professor of Psychiatry
Like so many health issues, a psychotic disorder brings uncertainty and disruption. McLean’s clinicians and researchers are changing the landscape of recovery, with help from our donor community. Here, assertive treatment and proactive support are helping to restore lives and offer hope. Concurrently, multifaceted and highly novel research is leading us toward new understanding and better treatments.
The weeks and months immediately following a first episode of psychosis are critical, and early treatment minimizes the risk of recurrence. Launched with support from a family foundation, McLean OnTrackTM helps young adults learn to manage their illness, aiming to change the trajectory of their lives.
“Schizophrenia is a horrific illness. Watching my daughter suffer through it was pure hell. Today, she is doing well, thanks to her own personal courage and McLean Hospital. We will always be grateful.”– The late Georgie Ashforth
Center Chief: Kerry J. Ressler, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, James and Patricia Poitras Chair in Psychiatry
With incidences of trauma, depression, and anxiety soaring, McLean is helping people recover and rebuild their lives. The confluence of technology and donor support has created tremendous forward momentum toward understanding and treating these common and life-altering conditions.
Beyond trauma lies hope. Major investment in trauma research helped McLean launch the first-of-its-kind multidisciplinary study in dissociative disorders and created endowed support for researchers, clinicians, and educators to work side-by-side in discovering how trauma impacts the brain. Their work holds great promise for healing and recovery.
“Without McLean, I could have been a mother who lost a child…or two. I really think McLean saved my kids.”– Roseanne, mother of Abby and Mary
Center Chief: Roger D. Weiss, MD
Addiction has become one of the most discussed public health issues of our time. Treatments that embrace individuals when they are most in need, coupled with a growing understanding of the science behind addiction, are providing new paths for many whose future was uncertain.
After the devastating 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, it was clear that law enforcement and first responders need unique and tailored treatment for the mental health strains they endure in the line of duty. A major philanthropic gift launched the LEADER (Law Enforcement, Active Duty, Emergency Responder) program, through which McLean is honored to offer specialized care for men and women in uniform.
“I drank to ease my pain…I hated myself. The staff at McLean went above and beyond to help me get my life back.”– Wayne, LEADER patient
Center Chief: Joseph Gold, MD, Chief Medical Officer
As mental health issues appear ever-more widespread among young people, McLean is working hard to reach children and adolescents in every possible setting. Our clinicians are working with schools, pediatricians, and communities to detect and treat psychiatric issues earlier, while our scientists are working to understand risk and resilience.
School nurses are ideal partners in promoting health and wellness for students, yet they receive little training on how to screen for, intervene, and advocate around behavioral and mental health issues. Thanks to a major philanthropic investment that launched the McLean School Nurse Liaison Project, school nurses are becoming powerful agents for student mental health within their schools.
“School nurses have a major role in kids getting the help they need. We’re delighted to help increase access to mental health expertise and promote prevention.”– Nancy Anthony, who, together with her husband Bob, helped McLean launch the School Nurse Liaison Project
Center Chief: Brent P. Forester, MD, MSc
McLean’s Geriatric Psychiatry team works to make the later stages of life joyous, productive, and fulfilling. Philanthropy helps us provide care and support for our nation’s growing population of older adults, while investments in research fuel studies probing the complex vulnerabilities of the aging brain.
Jacqueline Rogers was treated at McLean many years ago. The care she received and her fondness for Dr. Brent Forester inspired her daughter Debbie and niece Amy to launch the Geriatric Mood Disorders Research Program to focus on understanding the disorders that impair quality of life for elders.
“I lost both my wonderful and loving parents to Parkinson’s disease. For me, supporting Parkinson’s research is personal. My hope is to change outcomes for my generation and for generations to come.”– Margo Cooper
Center Chief: Bill Carlezon, PhD
Finding the answers to the “why” and the “how” of mental illness is what drives McLean scientists who study the brain at cellular and molecular levels. By supporting cutting-edge techniques and technologies, along with the experts deploying them, philanthropy has pushed the frontier of knowledge toward prevention and cure.
The late Josephine Pomeroy’s gratitude for the care she and other family members received at McLean prompted her to leave a sizeable bequest to the hospital. Today, her gift supports basic scientists working to address the most relevant problems in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders and to ensure that findings improve care.
“Our family believes that Josephine received the finest treatment available in the United States. It is my hope that my aunt’s bequest will benefit future McLean patients.”– Lawrence K. Pomeroy
Center Chief: Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH, Chief Academic Officer, Kristine M. Trustey Chair in Psychiatry
Only since the 1990s have women routinely been included in psychiatric research, so we are just beginning to understand differences in mental health conditions as they affect women and girls. McLean is expanding this body of knowledge to help us better understand the role of gender in the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of mental illness.
A first-of-its-kind post-doctoral clinical fellowship in women’s mental health is putting into practice our emerging understanding of the role gender plays in psychiatric disorders. A year of training includes exposure to diagnoses that are highly prevalent among women and girls, experience with evidence-based therapies, and grounding in the medical aspects of women’s mental health.
“McLean is, as usual, ahead of the curve in terms of training the next generation of clinicians. It’s exciting to play a role in providing better care for women and girls.”– Nancy Rushton, trustee of the Kathleen and Ronald J. Jackson Foundation, which funded McLean’s first clinical fellowship in women’s mental health
Some gifts uniquely advance a broad spectrum of McLean’s work. Endowment of leadership positions, capital grants, and investments in our academic mission lend stability and forward momentum in equal measure. Gifts totaling almost $48 million have created an impact that is felt across the hospital—by strengthening our workforce, expanding our clinical reach, and providing critical technologies.
Demand for psychiatric treatment has long exceeded capacity. An anonymous $5 million gift helped fund construction for a new wing on our Admissions Building, providing 31 inpatient beds and much-needed office and research space. McLean can now care for more than 1,000 additional people each year.
“We are honored to have our names connected to McLean Hospital through this endowed chair. And Scott is deserving of recognition, as his leadership has put McLean on a new playing field.”– Rose-Marie van Otterloo
Donors made unrestricted gifts at unprecedented levels during the Campaign for McLean Hospital. Many embraced our Mary Belknap Society by making annual unrestricted gifts of $1,000 or more. The response has created a vital and renewing base of flexible resources to support the full of McLean’s mission.
As members of the Mary Belknap Society, Susan and Lee Berk make annual unrestricted gifts and help reduce the stigma associated with mental illness by allowing their names to be published with other donors.
“Lee and I have enormous trust in McLean’s leadership. Our support is unrestricted because we feel strongly that those with more knowledge and experience should direct our gifts where they can be the most useful.”– Susan Berk, Mary Belknap Society member
If you are interested in giving to McLean Hospital, please visit our Give page to learn more.
August 1, 2018