Harold Grinspoon Advances Future of Mental Health Through Donation

Imagine if you could help make the world a better place, starting with your community. Imagine if a choice you made today could lead to healthier tomorrows for western Massachusetts for decades to come.

Harold Grinspoon does not have to imagine. His forethought and recent generosity helped create the Harold Grinspoon Endowed Chair of Psychiatry at Baystate Health. 

Harold is the founder of public and private foundations that bear his name and is a signatory to the Giving Pledge, a movement of philanthropists who commit to give the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. Through his generosity, this newly established endowed fund will support the Chair of Psychiatry position in perpetuity, allowing the chair holder to utilize the funds to further excellence in patient care, education, and research at Baystate Health. Each year, the chair can choose the areas they feel will most benefit from an infusion of financial support.

"It is important for those of us who live in the region to support institutions such as Baystate Health, and I hope that my gift encourages others to also invest in this most worthwhile organization,” shared Harold.
 
Dr. Barry Sarvet, chair of the Department of Psychiatry, is the inaugural holder of this prestigious position.

“One of our biggest challenges in mental health today is access to treatment. Many individuals with serious mental health needs are simply not receiving the care they deserve. We need to build a larger clinical workforce, continue to educate the public to address mental health stigma, and improve our systems to make them easier to access.” shared Dr. Sarvet.

For Dr. Sarvet, the solution starts with investments in clinical education, recruitment, and professional development of existing clinical staff. He also plans to utilize proceeds from the endowment to continue advancing models of collaboration between mental health providers and other helping professionals, including medical and pediatric colleagues, teachers, and community health workers. This supports his view that mental health is everybody’s business, not just that of specialists.

“The ’active ingredient’ for most mental health treatments is people: the human connection, the healing relationship, the compassion and understanding that kind, intelligent, and well-trained people can offer to others who need it,” said Dr. Sarvet. “Thanks to Harold, we will have more resources to invest in our people to better serve our community.”