State Sen. Dave Burke, R-Marysville, received the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio's 2012 Legislator of the Year Award Friday.
The award was presented at NAMI Ohio's statewide conference, "The Great Mental Health Debate" at the Hyatt Regency, Columbus.
Burke was nominated by Josie Setzler, executive director of NAMI of Seneca, Sandusky and Wyandot counties.
"Senator Burke has been instrumental in securing critical legislation to help ensure that those with serious mental illness have access to life-saving medications by eliminating some of the hoops that psychiatrists must jump through when writing prescriptions for individuals served by Medicaid Managed Care," Setzler said in the nomination letter. "Passage of the psychiatric exemption was a huge win for mental health consumers and would not have been possible without the leadership of the senator."
NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness, according to its website, www.nami.org.
The website also states the organization advocates for access to services, treatment, supports research and is commited to raising awareness and building a community of hope for people in need.
