Bradley Hospital brought Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston to life on June 7 when New England’s only psychiatric hospital devoted to children hosted more than 400 guests for its “Bravo Bradley, Hope through Dance” gala.

Chaired by Rosemary and Mehdi Khosrovani, the signature event raised $770,800 to advance pioneering pediatric mental health care, education and research.

Of the total raised, the gala’s fund-a-need resulted in $246,600 to benefit the Daniel J. Wall Family Support Fund, which provides resources for patient families struggling with the financial burdens that can accompany a child’s mental health diagnosis. The fund was renamed that evening to honor the hospital’s longtime president, who is retiring at the end of June after decades of groundbreaking leadership.

“Dan has done amazing things at Bradley for the past 31 years – when he first arrived, we were an inpatient hospital with a tiny outpatient program and had 300 discharges a year,” said Dr. Timothy J. Babineau, president and CEO of Lifespan. “Fast forward and we now have schools, partial programs, residential, in home, world-class research, and we now see more than 5000 patients a year. Dan has assembled a world-renowned team of clinicians and researchers and has helped de-stigmatize adolescents with mental and behavioral health issues – here and nationally. Our debt of gratitude to Dan is enormous.”

“Hope through Dance” kicked-off with a cocktail reception before guests were invited into the ballroom as a group of students from Rosemary’s School of Dance Education gave a special performance. After welcome remarks from hospital leadership, guests were introduced by video to a young woman who credits the treatment she received at Bradley for changing the trajectory of her life.

“Multiply the story you just heard by about 5,000 – that’s how many children we see each year – and you’ll have a sense of how great the need is for pediatric mental health care,” Wall said before he introduced professional auctioneer Harry Santa-Olalla.

After an exciting live auction, Henry Sachs, MD, Bradley’s chief medical officer, took to the stage to intro the night’s fund-a-need video benefiting the hospital’s Family Support Fund.

“The fund exists to help families who need an extra measure of financial support during their most vulnerable times,” Sachs said. “The goal, quite simply, is to make sure they can afford to stay in treatment.”

Featured in the video was a 9-year-old from New Hampshire who was treated at Bradley and initiated a fundraiser to help other Bradley families like his. His effort raised more than $9,000.

“Every dollar raised allows Bradley to do more – to treat more children with serious behavioral conditions; perform more groundbreaking research; devise more innovative therapies; and heal more hearts and minds,” Rosemary Khosrovani said.

Added her husband, Mehdi: “And what better way to honor and continue Dan’s legacy than with an outpouring of generosity in support of a fund that impacts the well being of children and families above and beyond the treatment Bradley provides.”

At the conclusion of the evening program, guests were treated to a moving performance by Rhode Island’s own Billy Gilman, and danced the night away to the stirring sounds of World Premier Band.

Bradley Hospital extends its gratitude and appreciation to “Hope through Dance” waltz sponsor, the Browns; leadership donor, Amica Companies Foundation; fox trot sponsor, Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation; and the more than 30 sponsors and supporters who made the event possible.