September 29, 2021
COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s Stress, Trauma and Resilience (STAR) Program will hold its 12th annual “Faces of Resilience” fundraising event at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Fives, 550 Reach Boulevard., Columbus.
The event will feature a small group of people gathering in-person along with a virtual livestream for others to watch as Kristina A. Johnson, president of The Ohio State University, presents the 2021 STAR Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Fields of Trauma and Resilience to Gov. Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine. Gov. DeWine will give a brief speech to share his vision of a “resilient Ohio.”
While he was Ohio’s attorney general, DeWine’s office provided funding to the STAR Program so victims of crime could receive ongoing support and mental health treatment. As governor, DeWine signed an executive order creating the RecoveryOhio initiative to ensure that state agencies act aggressively to address substance use disorder and to invest in the health and well-being of Ohio’s citizens.
For the youngest Ohioans, Gov. DeWine appointed a director of Children’s Initiatives and secured $675 million to provide resources to assist in student wellness and success in schools. First Lady DeWine plays a pivotal role in the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library, which provides children with a free monthly book for the first five years of their lives.
In addition, Anne Jeffrey Wright and Sally Jeffrey O’Neil will present an award named in honor of their late mother who was a strong advocate for mental health services. The 2021 Nancy Jeffrey Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Mental Health and Addiction Fields will be presented to Tim Robinson, CEO of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In his nearly 25 years with Nationwide Children’s,
Robinson has helped transform the hospital from an important regional children’s health care system into a preeminent academic medical center.
Also during the event, Dr. K. Luan Phan, chair of Ohio State’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, will announce the creation of a comprehensive Center for Psychiatry and Resilience at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
“With this new center, we are bringing together the very best minds to solve the toughest problems in mental health today: the problems of “deaths of despair” from addiction and suicide,” Phan said. “Our center will focus on prevention and early intervention in the treatment of illnesses that lead to these tragic deaths. We will also conduct research on a statewide scale never before imagined to better understand the root causes of these disorders in order to develop new strategies to help patients and families.”
The STAR Program, which is an initiative of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, Ohio State Behavioral Health and Ohio State’s Neurological Institute, raises funds for mental health services at Ohio State.
Media representatives are asked to contact Eileen.Scahill@osumc.edu to make arrangements to cover this event.
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Media contact: Eileen Scahill, Wexner Medical Center Media Relations, Eileen.Scahill@osumc.edu