Release Date: 05/30/2018

Approximately 130 attend ‘A Masterpiece of Hope’ event at Providence Art Club

Butler Hospital Foundation raised more than $80,000 through sponsorships, ticket sales, and silent auction at A Masterpiece of Hope, hosted at the historic Providence Art Club on May 16, 2018. The gathering generated awareness for Butler Hospital’s services and research, and raised funds to support the launch of its Zero Suicide Initiative. Approximately 130 community members and Butler and Care New England clinicians, researchers, and staff were in attendance to honor Michael N. Matone as Corporation Member of the Year and Paul M. Cote with the Lila M. Sapinsley Community Service Award. The event was co-chaired by John Sinnott and Kelly Doern.

President and Chief Operating Officer Mary Marran, MS, OT, MBA, said, “Both Michael and Paul represent the importance of Butler’s connection to the community. The involvement of family and friends is critical to successfully managing mental health, and as such our clinical teams actively seek people to be engaged in the healing of our patients after they leave treatment. This is why community engagement is an essential component of the Zero Suicide Initiative we officially launched at this year’s Foundation event.”

Matone has worked with the hospital for nearly two decades, serving as chair of the Butler Hospital Foundation in 2014 and 2015. He has participated in capital campaigns and fundraising events and is a strong advocate for Butler’s mission and services. Matone received the award at a board meeting earlier in the month as he was unable to attend the fundraiser.

Cote is a longtime supporter of Butler’s Memory and Aging Program (MAP), with which he became associated through his father’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He is also a volunteer member of the hospital’s Art and History Committee, and one of his paintings hangs in the hospital’s Arboretum. He hosts fundraising events to support MAP and the Alzheimer’s Association Rhode Island Chapter.

The Zero Suicide Initiative is a national effort to conceptualize suicide deaths as a preventable medical error in health care environments. Butler Hospital is taking initial steps to adopt a goal of zero suicide deaths in its inpatient and partial hospital treatment programs and for 30 days post-discharge. The monies raised at this month’s event will support building a team of researchers and clinicians to develop the infrastructure for the program.

It will take several years to implement employee education, evaluate new interventions, and establish a community safety network. Clinical and research teams will work together to develop data collection and measurement processes; to educate staff on an evidence-based suicide risk assessment tool; to define consistent language to frame suicide risk and related behaviors; to establish post-discharge communication protocols for patients’ primary care and other community-based providers for a stronger safety net; and to engage insurance companies in developing special payment models to cover the post-discharge care as part of a treatment plan.

Cox Business and Hinckley Allen were leadership sponsors for A Masterpiece of Hope. Generous support was also given by Alvarez and Marsal Healthcare Industry Group, Dimeo Construction Company, Gilbane Building Company, and New England Laborers' Health and Safety Fund, as well as many others. Additional gifts can be made to support this important initiative at foundation.butler.org.

Learn more about the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), leaders of the Zero Suicide Initiative, at zerosuicide.sprc.org.

About Butler Hospital

Butler Hospital, a member of Care New England, is the only private, nonprofit psychiatric and substance abuse hospital serving adults, seniors and adolescents in Rhode Island and southeastern New England. Founded in 1844, it was the first hospital in Rhode Island and has earned a reputation as the leading provider of innovative psychiatric treatments in the region. The Major Affiliated Teaching Hospital for Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Butler is recognized worldwide as a pioneer in conducting cutting-edge research.