Florida State Senator Harrell Receives APA’s 2020 Javits Award
Abstract
Sen. Harrell has been a champion for children in the Florida state foster care program, helped to modernize the state’s mental health act, and has strengthened licensure requirements for substance abuse treatment programs in the state.
For the past 20 years, Florida State Sen. Gayle Harrell has been at the forefront of every major mental health policy issue in the state.
Florida State Senator Gayle Harrell received APA’s 2020 Jacob K. Javits Award for Public Service during the virtual fall meeting of the Florida Psychiatric Society (FPS) last month.
Harrell, a Republican representing the Florida Senate’s 25th district, has helped to modernize the Florida Mental Health Act, strengthened quality standards for addiction treatment services in the state, and helped to reform the state’s foster care system. The district she represents comprises St. Lucie and Martin counties and a northern segment of Palm Beach County.
Presenting the award to Harrell during the FPS meeting, APA President Jeffrey Geller, M.D., M.P.H., said the state senator has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to improving services for people with mental illness throughout the state.
“When Florida’s foster children were becoming lost in a complicated system filled with gaps and no access to mental health services, Sen. Harrell stepped in and helped find solutions,” Geller said. “When many of Florida’s substance abuse treatment facilities were mistreating patients and promoting fraudulent services, she again stepped in to require licensure for these facilities.
“When 20th century views toward mental health confronted 21st century realities, Sen. Harrell led the effort to modernize the Florida Mental Health Act.”
Geller said that for the past 20 years, the senator has been at the forefront of every major mental health policy issue in the state. “She achieves results by staying focused on her citizens’ needs, especially those of children, and recognizing the role of each player in health care and mental health care settings.
“APA greatly appreciates her recognition of and support for the role of physician leadership in treating mental illness,” Geller said. “She has been a true leader and champion for psychiatry and our patients.”
Harrell is chair of the Committee on Health Policy and vice chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. She is also a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Military and Veterans Affairs and Space Committee; and the Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight.
She has received the Legislator of the Year Award from the Florida Medical Association, the Legislative Leadership Award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the Legislative Award from the Florida Children’s Forum. Harrell has been recognized at the national level as Legislator of the Year by the Health Information Systems Society and received the Exceptional Legislator Award from the Schizophrenia & Related Disorders Alliance of America.
She was elected to the Florida Senate in November 2018 after serving eight terms in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008 and 2010 to 2018.
The Javits Award acknowledges a public servant who has made a significant contribution to the mental health community, such as ensuring access to quality services for individuals with mental illness. It also showcases the work of honorees on behalf of consumers, the field of mental health, and the medical profession. This is the highest award APA confers on a public servant.
The award is named for the late Sen. Jacob K. Javits (R-N.Y.), who served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1947-1954), as attorney general of New York (1955-1957), and in the U.S. Senate (1957-1981). ■
Information about the Javits Award, including how to nominate someone, is posted here.
