At last week’s 7th annual Mental Health America of Hawaii awards luncheon, officials honored the late Big Island resident Beverely Grogan (1937-2011) as Outstanding Mental Health Leader. At last week’s 7th annual Mental Health America of Hawaii awards luncheon, officials
At last week’s 7th annual Mental Health America of Hawaii awards luncheon, officials honored the late Big Island resident Beverely Grogan (1937-2011) as Outstanding Mental Health Leader.
MHA-H Executive Director Marya Grambs said, “Beverely was the director of the Hawaii County branch of Mental Health America since 1990, and she was feisty, funny, and a fierce mental health advocate.
“Known locally as ‘Ms. Mental Health,’ many of the projects she championed permanently changed the landscape of mental health and social services of the Big Island. She birthed the Big Island Behavioral Health Council, where stakeholders from all areas of the island came together to identify and solve challenges of the mental health community.
“She worked indefatigably over several decades to ensure that West Hawaii consumers and family members had crisis services and inpatient stabilization at Kona Community Hospital. And, there were two critically needed publications that she developed and maintained: The Big Island Survey of Social Indicators and the Island Wide Resource Directory.
“These were invaluable for providers throughout the island,” said Grambs. “For your steadfast and unwavering commitment and action for decades in helping develop new programs, assisting people in getting help and improving care, we say, ‘mahalo and aloha o‘e, Bev Grogan.”
