BANGOR — Acadia Hospital celebrated Hospital Week with an employee recognition celebration on May 11.

The theme of the event was "The Gift of Gratitude," and it featured delicious food prepared by Penobscot Job Corps, keynote speaker Sarah Smiley, years of service recognition and peer excellence awards.

Over 100 employees attended the event, and Maine-based Author and Columnist Sarah Smiley set the tone, sharing her experiences with depression and appreciation for the work performed by Acadia Hospital on a daily basis.

Acadia employees were then recognized for years of service in five-year increments, beginning with five years and going up to 35 years (employees who began their employment at EMMC/EMHS and transitioned to Acadia Hospital later in their careers).

Finally, select employees were chosen to receive the Peer Excellence Awards in the following categories: Ancillary – Jill Craig; Psych. Tech. – Melissa White; Nurse – Pixie Campbell, RNC; Clinician – Dara McIntire, LMSW-CC; and Licensed Independent Practitioner – Warren Black, PMHNP, and Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, Ph.D. This year a special Paw Award was given to Therapy Dog Twit Richardson, for her work in helping patients feel calm and secure while staying at Acadia.

"Our theme focused on gratitude this year, and was very fitting to the occasion," commented Acadia Hospital President and CEO Daniel B. Coffey in a news release. "We receive many comments from our patients and their families expressing thanks for the care they received while working with Acadia staff. In turn, I am grateful that we have such exceptional employees helping us achieve our mission of empowering people to improve their lives."

Acadia Hospital is a fully accredited and licensed non-profit psychiatric hospital whose mission it is to empower people to improve their lives. For more information please go to acadiahospital.org.