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Dr. Richard Powers, director of the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Bureau of Geriatric Psychiatry and Father of the Dementia Education and Training Program in Alabama, will be inducted into the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame in March.

Nominated by Kim Ingram, DMH/MR Associate Commissioner for Mental Illness, Dr. Powers has brought to the State of Alabama increased focus and understanding of the needs of its older citizens. "Alabama is aging and Dr. Richard Powers is leading our efforts to prepare for an aging population," Ingram said.

Dr. Powers is a trained psychiatrist, geriatric psychiatrist and neuropathologist. "My good fortune has allowed me to practice all three specialties during my years in Alabama, Dr. Powers said. Dr. Powers sees his major accomplishments over the last twelve years as creation of a geriatric mental health care system, the training of large numbers of young professionals to care for Alabama’s older citizens and the creation of the Brain Bank at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. "My proudest achievement is in geriatric mental health," Powers said.

Dr. Powers’ leadership as director of the DMH/MR Bureau of Geriatric Psychiatry has resulted in the following organized and upgraded services for older persons within the DMH/MR; a continuum of care within Alabama communities that includes community mental health centers and Alzheimer’s support groups; a mass-scale education program for Alzheimer’s caregivers to help them care for loved ones at home; and the design and development of a state-of-the art geriatric psychiatry hospital – the Mary Starke Harper facility in Tuscaloosa – to provide short-term treatment to individuals over 65 with dementia and serve as a teaching hub for students, families and community providers.

"We are so very proud of Dr. Powers and his efforts," said Kathy E. Sawyer, DMH/MR Commissioner. "Making provisions for Alabama’s aging population is vital to our future. Richard Powers has shown dynamic leadership and extraordinary vision in training caregivers and developing a community-based continuum of care for Alabama seniors with dementia," she said.

Dr. Powers is not a person to rest on his laurels, said Kim Ingram. "Our major focus for next year is Alabama’s assisted living facilities – to assure that every assisted living facility in the state has an opportunity to provide high-quality services for dementia patients," Powers said.

Dr. Powers will join the ranks of many other distinguished Alabamians when he becomes a member of the Alabama Health Care Hall of Fame at an induction ceremony in Montgomery on March 24 at the Alabama Activity Center.

"Last year, Bryce Hospital’s first superintendent, Dr. Peter Bryce, was inducted into the Hall of Fame. What a privilege and honor to have my name connected to his in the long-standing quest to help Alabama stand out in its public psychiatric services," Powers said.