Morton Plant Mease Foundation Event Features Actress Glenn Close & Author Jessie Close Discussing Mental Illness

Purpose is to encourage conversation about mental illness

CLEARWATER, Fla., (January 19, 2015) - The Morton Plant Mease Foundation welcomes award-winning actress Glenn Close and her sister, Jessie Close, to discuss how mental illness has affected their family and how they are working to help end the stigma around mental illness and substance use.

The event, “Mental Illness: A Family Affair,” is scheduled for Thursday March 5, 2015, at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 N McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. A VIP reception is scheduled from 6-7 p.m., and their presentation will be from 7-8:30 p.m.

During the presentation, the sisters will share their story of how Jessie Close, a writer, has lived with bipolar illness most of her life. Jessie was not diagnosed until later in life, and then discovered that her son has schizoaffective disorder (bipolar with some symptoms of schizophrenia).

In 2009, Glenn and Jessie Close helped launch Bring Change 2 Mind, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to confronting the stigma associated with mental illness.

“If it’s something that’s part of the human condition, why is it still so difficult for people to accept, to support, and to talk about?” said Glenn Close in a 2014 interview with Forbes magazine.

Tickets start at $75 for general admission or $150 for VIP. Proceeds benefit the Behavioral Health Programs at the hospitals of Morton Plant Mease. To register, call the Morton Plant Mease Foundation at (727) 462-7036 or visit the Morton Plant Mease Foundation web site at www.mpmf.org, and select the “Events” tab. 

About Morton Plant Mease 
Nationally recognized for health care excellence, Morton Plant Mease Health Care is dedicated to providing community owned health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. Morton Plant Mease Health Care is comprised of the following hospitals – Morton Plant, Clearwater; Mease Dunedin, Dunedin; Mease Countryside, Safety Harbor and Morton Plant North Bay, New Port Richey.

About BayCare Health System
BayCare Health System is a leading community-based health system in the Tampa Bay area. Composed of a network of 11 not-for-profit hospitals, outpatient facilities and services such as imaging, lab, behavioral health and home health care, BayCare provides expert medical care throughout a patient’s lifetime. With more than 200 access points conveniently located throughout Tampa Bay, BayCare connects patients to a complete range of preventive, diagnostic and treatment services for any health care need. 

BayCare’s family of hospitals are: Mease Countryside, Mease Dunedin, Morton Plant, Morton Plant North Bay, St. Anthony’s, St. Joseph’s, St. Joseph’s Children’s, St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, St. Joseph’s Women’s, South Florida Baptist, and Winter Haven. For more information, visit BayCare on the Web at www.BayCare.org.