Bill Text: OR SCR20 | 2013 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memoriam: Dr. Dean Brooks, 1916-2013.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2013-07-02 - Filed With Secretary of State. [SCR20 Detail]
Download: Oregon-2013-SCR20-Enrolled.html
77th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2013 Regular Session
Enrolled
Senate Concurrent Resolution 20
Sponsored by Senators COURTNEY, WINTERS
Whereas Dean Kent Brooks was born in Colony, Kansas, on July
22, 1916, attended the University of Kansas, Lawrence, earned an
M.D. from the University of Kansas School of Medicine and served
in the United States Navy as a medical officer in the Pacific
Theater during World War II; and
Whereas Dr. Brooks was the superintendent of the Oregon State
Hospital from 1955 to 1981; and
Whereas in 1974 Dr. Brooks made the decision to allow filming
of { - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - } at the Oregon State
Hospital, a film that went on to win five Academy Awards in 1976,
including Best Picture; and
Whereas Dr. Brooks played the role of Dr. Spivey, who performed
the intake interview with Randle McMurphy, played by Jack
Nicholson; and
Whereas though Dr. Brooks was criticized by some colleagues for
his decision to allow filmmakers into the Oregon State Hospital,
he felt that the experience would be therapeutic and financially
advantageous for patients, who were able to work on the film as
crew members and extras; and
Whereas Dr. Brooks hoped that the public would view the film as
an allegory and took steps to ensure film audiences would
understand that depictions of practices such as electroshock
therapy and lobotomy did not reflect the practices of modern
psychiatric hospitals; and
Whereas Dr. Brooks did much to improve patient care during his
tenure and was known as an innovator in his field; and
Whereas Dr. Brooks never had a single complaint filed against
him in his long and distinguished career as a psychiatrist; and
Whereas Dr. Brooks was an advocate against the dehumanization
of patients, which he observed occurring often in mental
institutions, nursing homes, correctional institutions, Indian
reservations and the military; and
Whereas Dr. Brooks was behind the creation of a task force,
composed of patients, staff and community members, that
identified 25 realms of life at the Oregon State Hospital in
which patients could have more input and personalization; and
Whereas in 1972 Dr. Brooks pioneered the 'eco-therapy ' program
at the Oregon State Hospital in which 51 long-term patients at
the hospital went on a 16-day wilderness trip, led by Lute
Jerstad, one of the first Americans to climb Mt. Everest; and
Whereas the 'eco-therapy' program experiment was chronicled by
Life Magazine and spurred many patients on to recovery; and
Whereas for Dr. Brooks, the patient always came first; and
Whereas after a distinguished career, Dr. Brooks died at the
age of 96 on May 30, 2013; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of
Oregon:
Enrolled Senate Concurrent Resolution 20 (SCR 20-INTRO) Page 1
That we, the members of the Seventy-seventh Legislative
Assembly, honor Dean Brooks for his pioneering and compassionate
work in the field of psychiatry and express our heartfelt
condolences to his family and friends.
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Adopted by Senate June 24, 2013
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Robert Taylor, Secretary of
Senate
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Peter Courtney, President of
Senate
Adopted by House June 28, 2013
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Tina Kotek, Speaker of House
Enrolled Senate Concurrent Resolution 20 (SCR 20-INTRO) Page 2
