Dr. Dave Receives Award From American Psychiatric Association (APA) Assembly
For Outstanding Contributions to Field
The Department of Human Services’ (DHS’) Independence Mental Health Institute Superintendent Dr. Bhasker J. Dave recently received the Warren Williams Assembly Speaker’s Award given periodically by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Assembly. The award recognizes outstanding recent or current activity in, or contributions to, the field of psychiatry and mental health. It is one of the most prestigious awards bestowed by the APA Assembly.
The award is named in honor and memory of Warren Williams, M.D., who was influential in developing recommendations for greater participation of the assembly in APA policy development and governance. The APA, a worldwide organization, encompasses members practicing in more than 100 countries.
In the APA Assembly, Dr. Dave represents over 5,000 psychiatrists in the Midwest. The Midwest region nominated him for the award this year, which he received in San Francisco on May 19 during a meeting of the full assembly. Dr. Kenneth Busch, a psychiatrist from Illinois, introduced him. Dr. Busch’s said, “Dr. Dave has served in public sector psychiatry since he joined the Mental Health Institute (MHI) in Independence, IA, one of Iowa’s psychiatric hospitals, in 1968.
“Since 1984, he has served as the Superintendent and the Clinical Director of Independence MHI. Under Dr. Dave’s leadership, the hospital has operated under a strong medical model, providing the highest quality of inpatient psychiatric care. The hospital is the provider of the last resort for many seriously mentally ill patients. The hospital provides the safety net for patients who cannot receive services elsewhere because of the severity of their symptoms or their lack of financial resources.
“Throughout his career, Dr. Dave has been keenly interested in the mental health workforce in Iowa. He has provided and directed training of students in various mental health disciplines. He served as the Program Director of an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-approved Three-Year Psychiatric Residency Training Program at Independence Mental Health Institute from 1977 to 1984. Independence MHI currently offers clinical training programs in several disciplines for undergraduate and graduate students from colleges and universities in Iowa.
“Dr. Dave has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Iowa Psychiatric Society (IPS) since 1978. He is a past president of the IPS.
“He has served in the Assembly of the APA continuously since 1978. He has served on several Area 4 Council, Assembly and APA Committees, task forces and workgroups during his career.
“Of special note, Dr. Dave was the Chair of the APA Assembly’s “Committee on Public Psychiatry” from 1991 to 1998. He co-Chaired its successor committee, the “Committee on Public and Community Psychiatry” from 1998 to 1999 and then chaired that committee from 1999 to 2004. During the 13 years that he led these Committees, Dr. Dave strongly articulated issues related to public sector psychiatry, urging the Assembly and the APA to take various actions to support the needs of the seriously mentally ill patients served by the public sector.”
DHS congratulates Dr. Dave on this achievement and is grateful for all of his dedication and commitment to Iowans in need over many years.
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