McLean Hospital Earns Top Accolades for National Public Awareness Campaign

McLean Hospital was presented with a Gold Stevie^® Award in the Communications or PR Campaign of the Year – Healthcare category at The 15^th Annual American Business Awards yesterday.

The American Business Awards are the nation’s premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the US are eligible to submit nominations—public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small.

Deconstructing Stigma: A Change in Thought Can Change a Life is a series of larger-than-life photographs and interviews with people from across the United States who have been affected by mental illness. Its initial physical installation opened in December 2016 at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

The installation, website, and companion book serve to capture the complexity of living with a psychiatric disorder, seeking treatment, navigating insurance and healthcare systems, and facing stigma.

Told through the eyes of its participants, Deconstructing Stigma boldly tears down the misconceptions of what those with mental illness look like. The volunteers in this project are more than just statistics or nameless faces. They are mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, lawyers, doctors, engineers, musicians, and more. Each one has been affected by mental illness, and each one has also faced stigma.

“Thank you for recognizing McLean Hospital for our work to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness,” said Adriana Bobinchock, senior director of Public Affairs and Communications for McLean. “The credit, however, should go to the more than 40 courageous individuals who shared their stories as part of the Deconstructing Stigma campaign. One in five people will be impacted by mental illness in their lifetime—meaning that every one of us knows someone affected by conditions such as depression, OCD, and schizophrenia. In honor of our participants and the millions of people like them, I challenge each of you to reconsider how you perceive mental illness and find out what you can do to help those around you.”

More than 190 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year’s Stevie Award winners.

“Each year, the judges find the quality and variety of the nominations to be greater than the year before. The 2017 competition was intense and every organization that has won should be proud,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards.

The judges said the following about Deconstructing Stigma:

• “Absolutely amazing. Full marks for this wonderful work by McLean Hospital and Boston Logan Airport. The campaign touches the heart and my first thought was I should replicate this in my country. Loved it.”
• “Excellent, well-thought out and creative campaign.”
• “A very important issue that needs to be brought more to the forefront of conversation. I loved the appeal to multiple demographics ... mental illness affects everyone.”
• “I’d give this a higher score if I could. Terrific description of the campaign, excellent campaign materials and execution! Easily one of the top programs I’ve judged over the two years.”
• “Delivering such an ambitious campaign that inspires awareness and compassion through human connection is a strong achievement. The work that went into this isn’t lost on me, nor is the sensitivity, strategic planning and thought that went into every choice. Not only is this incredibly well done, you have proven it is already having a positive impact on lives. The only downside is that more people aren’t currently exposed to the Deconstructing Stigma message.”

Go to the Stevie Awards website for more details about The American Business Awards and the list of 2017 Stevie winners.

About McLean Hospital
McLean Hospital is the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a member of Partners HealthCare. For more information about McLean, visit mcleanhospital.org or follow the hospital on Facebook or Twitter.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at stevieawards.com.

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