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Jeanne Blake |
Medical Journalist Jeanne Blake Joins McLean Hospital Board
Jeanne Blake is an affiliated faculty member at the Division on Addictions, founder of Words Can Work® and the president of Blake Works. We are pleased to announce that Blake has been named to the board of McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical School and an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital.
For Immediate Release
February 13,
2009
Contact
Laura Neves
McLean Hospital
617.855.2110
BELMONT, MA—McLean Hospital has announced the appointment of Jeanne Blake, a
critically acclaimed medical reporter, author and producer, to its board of
trustees.
Blake will use her commitment to educating the public about mental and
public health and her experience as a journalist to promote understanding of
psychiatric illness.
"There is a greater acceptance of people living with mental illness, but the
stigma remains," Blake says. "Too often people are afraid or feel ashamed to
ask for help. As a member of the McLean Hospital board, I will use my skills
and expertise to help raise awareness about mental illness and how we can
encourage more people to seek life transforming and lifesaving medical
treatment."
Blake is president and founder of Blake Works Inc. and Family Health
Productions. Her Words Can Work® evidence-based media (DVDs, Words Can Work
family guides and wordscanwork.com)
address the challenges young people face growing up. Her productions
including Alcohol: True Stories Hosted by Matt Damon; Depression: True
Stories; Drugs: True Stories and Steroids: True Stories Hosted by Curt
Schilling serve as a catalyst for potentially lifesaving dialogue among
young people and parents. They are incorporated into programs nationally by
thousands of healthcare and community organizations, schools, and corporate
work/life programs.
Blake's newest product in development is the Words Can Work online corporate
employee program to support parents in talking with their kids.
"When young people can talk openly and honestly with a parent or another
adult they trust, and really feel listened to, they tend to make better
choices," Blake says. "Ultimately these kids grow up more safely and parents
can be less stressed and more productive at work and in life."
This fall, Blake partnered with McLean Hospital Chief Medical Officer Joseph
Gold, MD, to train Boston Public School mental health personnel. The
program, addressing depression and suicide prevention, was so well received
that Blake and Dr. Gold are developing additional online training sessions
for educators and others who work with youth.
"The feedback was tremendous," Blake says. "One counselor reported that in
the week following the training she felt significantly better equipped to
meet the needs of a student who was suicidal. This is an example of how we
can make a difference in peoples' lives and one of the many reasons I'm
committed to McLean Hospital's mission."
From 1984 to 1991, Blake was a medical reporter and anchor at Boston's
CBS-TV affiliate where she earned the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Journalism
Award, was recognized by Americans for Democratic Action, and was honored by
the Human Rights Campaign for her coverage of health-care issues.
Blake, who lives in New York City and Gloucester, Massachusetts, serves on
the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of
Girls and is president of the Perfect Storm Foundation in Gloucester.
McLean Hospital is the largest psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical
School, an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital and a member of
Partners HealthCare. For more information about McLean Hospital, visit
www.mclean.harvard.edu.