|
Massachusets Health Activist Jonathan Delman One Of Ten Americans Chosen To Receive $125,000 National
Award For Improving Local Health Conditions
PRINCETON, NJ (October 27, 2008) – The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation today announced Jonathan Delman, a longtime Massachusetts mental health activist who lives with Bipolar disorder, as one of ten exemplary Americans who will receive the Community Health Leaders Award for 2008. The distinguished annual award honors extraordinary men and women from all over the country who conquer huge obstacles and take commanding action in local communities to tackle some of the most challenging health and health care problems facing the nation. Awardees are celebrated with national recognition and $125,000.
This year, more than 800 nominations were submitted from across the United States. Through a rigorous process, the Foundation selected ten outstanding individuals, all of whom have worked to improve health conditions in their communities through exceptional creativity, courage and commitment. The Foundation chose Delman this year for his advocacy and research at Consumer Quality Initiatives (CQI) to significantly transform the mental health system in Massachusetts. Delman will accept his award on October 29 at a special ceremony honoring each of the 2008 recipients during the Community Health Leaders Annual Meeting in San Diego.
"Jonathan Delman has demonstrated the capacity and ability of individuals to overcome mental health challenges and to develop the skills to make significant contributions to improve services for themselves and others," said Janice Ford Griffin, national program director for the award.
Delman founded CQI in 1999 as an outgrowth of the Massachusetts mental health consumer movement. Under his leadership, the organization creates opportunities to meaningfully involve people with mental illness in all aspects of mental health research, systems planning and program evaluation. The organization has been innovative in establishing mechanisms for academia and the consumer community to work together to develop research projects that are relevant to the community and impactful on policy and practice.
CQI works with academia to train consumers to conduct research, and with consumers to train academia on their perspective of mental health services. Its community-based research approach has challenged prevailing methods of academic mental health research. The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the Medicaid behavioral health configuration (the Partnership) have contracted with CQI to conduct personal interviews and focus groups on consumers’ experiences with mental health services in the state system. The organization collects a wide range of data - largely comprised of personal information that is generally difficult to obtain from mental health consumers - and delivers the results to service providers in the form of in-depth reports, which are then used to help them improve their services. CQI also works with DMH, the Partnership and providers to transform its findings into practice and policy statewide. Each of CQI’s 10 staff members either live with or are recovering from some form of mental illness or are significantly involved in the life of someone with a mental health condition.
Delman and CQI serve as constant reminders to the state’s mental health providers and policymakers of the need for consumer-driven mental health services for Massachusetts residents. He leads the organization as it works with other advocacy groups to create an environment in which individuals receiving services are viewed as valuable resources who can actively participate in researching, developing and evaluating the mental health system that serves them. CQI has helped transform the system through the use of consumer evaluations and data that shape services and policies. Its guiding philosophy, that research, evaluation and planning should be driven by the expressed needs of consumers, has resonated across the state. Delman and his work also challenge the stigma that people with mental illness cannot engage in a recovery process, handle responsibility and be productive members of society.
“I am honored and humbled to receive this important award," said Delman. "It was only 10 years ago that I was receiving Social Security Disability and Medicaid benefits. This recognition is certainly a credit to the many colleagues and family members who have supported me throughout this amazing journey. It will support my continued efforts to challenge the institutional norms of academic research, how it is conducted and how findings are utilized." Delman is recognized by both, mental health consumers and providers. In a letter of recommendation supporting his nomination for the award, Marylou Sudders, former commissioner of mental health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, called Delman a "catalyst for change" with "unwavering belief and tenacity."
Delman and each of the 2008 awardees will join the ranks of 153 Community Health Leaders in 45 states and Puerto Rico honored since 1993. The $125,000 award consists of a $20,000 personal gift and $105,000 to support their work. In addition to Delman in Massachusetts, this year, Community Health Leaders hail from Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Alabama, North Dakota, California, Utah, New York and Hawaii. Nominations for the 2009 Community Health Leaders Award can be submitted through November 7, 2008. For details on how to submit a nomination, including eligibility requirements and selection criteria, visit www.communityhealthleaders.org.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org
### |
