(Providence, RI) – On Tuesday, June 25, 2024, Butler Hospital hosted its annual gala, A Masterpiece of Hope at the Rhode Island Convention Center. The 2024 Signature Event raised more than $200,000 to support Butler Hospital’s efforts to improve access to behavioral health, treatment, and service.

The National Institute of Mental Health Disorders reports that before the pandemic an estimated one in five Americans struggled with a mental health disorder. Since the onset of COVID-19, this has increased an estimated 26% — to more than one in four. Rhode Island mirrors this trend, with the demand for mental health services currently at an all-time high.
 
“Every day, our incredible clinical and support staff at Butler Hospital work with people on their journey to better mental health, contribute to knowledge through education and research, and continuously improve ways in which we serve our patients and our community,” said Mary Marran, MS, OT, MBA, president, and COO, of Butler Hospital. “At Butler Hospital, we strive to provide ready access to behavioral health care by developing innovative models for service delivery, including our Behavioral Health Access Center, Outpatient Evaluation Center, and the Short-Stay Unit which was recently dedicated and will soon open to patients. Still, we continue to face an unprecedented demand for services, further complicated by behavioral health workforce challenges. I am incredibly humbled and thankful for the thoughtful contributions from compassionate donors which will be used to further expand access to services through investment in better technology, facility improvements, and staff development and training efforts.”
 
This year’s Lila M. Sapinsley Community Service Award was presented to Laurie-Marie Pisciotta, who has been the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Rhode Island since 2019 and has over 23 years of nonprofit experience. Laurie-Marie is driven by the core belief that we are meant to care for one another, and especially to care for our most vulnerable community members.
 
In addition, the Charles Reppucci Butler Hospital Service Award was awarded to James A. “Jim” Hopkins. Jim began his involvement at Kent Hospital, where he followed in his parent’s footsteps, volunteering. Like his father before him, Jim was elected to the Kent Hospital Board of Trustees in 1986, where he served as Chairman from 1999 to 2002. When Care New England created a single Board of Directors to serve all five of its operating units in 2011, Jim began volunteering at the system level. He formerly served on the Strategic Planning, Credentials, Investment, and Compensation Committees, and is currently a member of the Quality Committee. Having recognized the important work being done by other hospitals within the CNE system, Jim offered his time and expertise to Butler Hospital, where he is currently serving as Chair of the Butler Hospital Medical Matters Committee and is also a member of the Butler Hospital Foundation Board.
The event was made possible thanks to the generous support of sponsors, including:
 
Picasso Sponsors ($5,000) Gail and John Alofsin; Bliss Properties, Inc.; Mary E. Marran, Chief Administrative Officer, Care New England and President, Butler Hospital and The Providence Center; Navigant Credit Union; New England Laborers’ Health & Safety Fund, an affiliate of the Laborers’ International Union of North America; Jack and Judith Remondi; Dr. Ghulam Mustafa Surti and Warwick Mall.
 
Rembrandt Sponsors ($2,500) Anonymous; AAA Northeast; Bentley Builders; BankNewport; DPR Construction; Hinckley Allen; HipMe, LLC; Sodexo; Tony Hirsch; Andy and Judy Matt; Professional Ambulance, LLC; Dave and Jeannine Rogers and Siena Restaurant Group.
 
O’Keefe Sponsors ($1,500) Kevin E. Baill, MD; The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company; Shelley and Jim Botvin; Stephen and Rosanna Burke; Jeffrey and Jason Cabral; Dimeo Construction Company; James A. Hopkins; Johnson & Wales University; Michael N. Matone, CLU, ChFC; H. Douglas and Lorraine Randall; Second Serve Resale, and Shanix Technology, Inc.
 
Monet Sponsors ($1,000) CannonDesign; David, Maureen, and Kelly Doern; Stacy and Doug Emanuel; Diane Ferreira; Amy and DB Hebb; The Hopkins Family; Howes Products; John and Irene Hynes; Meg and Ed Keating; Massud & Sons Floor Covering, Inc.; Dave’s Marketplace; Roger and Jennifer Mitty; Stephen Moran and Dr. Marcus Viana; Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island; Raymond Powrie, MD and Harvey Makadon, MD; Steven Rasmussen, MD; Frank Shatz & Co.; Scott Van Steeden; US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and Ann Woolsey.
 
Friends Sponsors ($500) William J. Allen; Stephen Alves; Allen Cicchitelli; Delta Dental of RI; Furey Roofing & Construction Co., Inc.; Roberta Groch and Christopher Sanzo; H. Carr & Sons; The Hilb Group of New England, LLC; Klipfel Family Charitable Fund; Koffler-Bornstein Family Foundation; Peggy and Thomas Lamb; Joseph Marrinan; Mental Health Association of Rhode Island; The Omni Group-Karen DiStefano; Joyce and Michael Pucino; Charles and Carol Reppucci; Richard Silverstein; Thomas Tarro III – Tarro & Marotti Law Firm, LLC; Ronnee Wasserman & Herbert Sackett, Lisa Ovalles; and Robert Westlake, MD.
 
To donate, please visit https://foundation.butler.org/masterpiece-of-hope-one-time-donation.

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. For more information, visit butler.org.