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Contact: Gail Donovan
Donovan Communications
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BROOKLYN PSYCHIATRIC CENTERS HONORS
BROOKLYN CIVIC LEADERS WITH IMAGINE AWARD
BROOKLYN, NY—April 11, 2003— Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, Inc. honored two community leaders, Bill Howell and Dr. Randall Bloomfield, with its Imagine Award at its annual “Friendraiser” on Thursday, April 10, 2003, at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
“I’m deeply honored to be the recipient of the Imagine Award from Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers,” said Dr. Bloomfield, who has practiced medicine in Brooklyn for more than 40 years. “Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers is a superlative organization that continues to do so much for so many. They seek out the emotionally wounded and offer them hope for a better tomorrow.”
Dr. Bloomfield has practiced at Brooklyn-Caledonia Medical Center, Kings County Hospital, Memorial Hospital for Cancer, and the State University of New York Health Science Center-Downstate Medical Center. He also served as an associate professor at Downstate Medical Center and as an author and lecturer on a variety of medical topics. He was chair of the board of trustees of the Medical Society of the State of New York in 2000-2001, and has served on nearly 70 boards or committees at hospitals or for medical organizations.
Mr. Howell, president of Howell Industries, shared his how he overcame the sudden loss of his wife of 23 years, who died in November 2001, and an illness and learned to imagine and hope again.
“I am very grateful to Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers for honoring me with the Imagine Award at this particular point in my life,” Mr. Howell said. “Since 9-11, there has been a major shift in our world. On a national level we have new uncertainties about our own physical safety with the threat of terrorism; our economy is weakened; there are many things we cannot control, and we feel a new vulnerability. Against this backdrop, the drama of our daily lives plays out—family matters, jobs, health, children’s education. All in all, our lives today are a pretty thick stew of often clashing and competing forces, issues, and dynamics that vie for our attention and challenge our capacity for optimism and clear-sighted action.”
Mr. Howell continued that because people today have so many concerns, the services provided by Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers are vital. “There is nothing more important than keeping the ability to imagine and to hope in our lives,” he said.
Mr. Howell is vice chair of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Latimer Woods Economic Development Association. He is on the boards of Community Capital Bank, the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors, the Regional Alliance of Small Contractors, Boys & Girls Clubs of Brooklyn, and the Helen Keller Foundation.
“I don’t have to tell you how important your support is,” said Dr. Pamela Straker, president and CEO of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers. “All one has to do today is pick up the newspaper to learn of the devastation the city and state’s fiscal crises are having and will continue to have on organizations like ours that help vulnerable individuals in need.”
Dr. Straker continued, “Your contributions will make a major difference in the lives of thousands of people in need of quality mental health services in Brooklyn… so that our youngest clients can grow up to be educated, positive adults, our adult clients can work and support their families, and our seniors can enjoy a better quality of life.”
Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers also recognized the late Louis E. Reinhold, who served Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers with distinction for more than 30 years as a board member, president of the board of trustees, and most recently as chairman emeritus until his death in December 2002.
Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, which was founded in 1907, provides borough-wide mental health services to Brooklyn’s most vulnerable residents through its clinics in Bushwick, Canarsie, Flastbush-Sheepshead Bay, Williamsburg-Greenpoint, and downtown Brooklyn and the borough’s public schools. It was among the agencies that provided therapeutic services to school-aged children following the September 11 disaster. Its diverse staff of more than 100 professionals makes more than 60,000 visits annually to children, adults, seniors, and their families. Public funding and government contracts comprise 90 percent of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ income, but the remainder must be raised from the community.
More information about Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers is available by calling 718-875-5625 or at www.bpcinc.org.