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Naples, Fl – David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health (DLC), Collier County’s only comprehensive, not-for-profit behavioral health provider serving children, adults and families, announced that Acute Care Psychiatrist, Edwin Gomez, MD, and Nursing Supervisor, Ashley Valvano, RN, were named statewide award winners by the Florida Behavioral Health Association (FBHA) through their annual Awards of Excellence Program. The program honors the best in the state’s behavioral health workforce with a series of prestigious achievement awards.

Dr. Edwin Gomez was named “Medical Professional of the Year”. This prestigious award honors one medical professional that delivers high-quality, patient centered care with compassion and dignity. Dr. Gomez fully exemplifies DLC’s mission in his work with clients, families, colleagues, and community partners. As DLC’s primary bilingual Adult Psychiatrist in the Crisis Stabilization Unit, Dr. Gomez not only provides excellent, individualized care to individuals experiencing a mental health emergency, he takes extraordinary measures to engage families and incorporate them into treatment.

Over the last several years, largely through Dr. Gomez’s guidance and expertise, DLC initiated and greatly expanded Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) services on an outpatient basis. This is an essential service to the community providing lifesaving, ongoing care to those struggling with severe and often co-occurring substance addiction and mental health disorders. In addition, Dr. Gomez takes a true team approach, and continually makes himself available to staff and interns to provide guidance, education, and training.

Ashley Valvano, RN, was selected as one of six “Behavioral Health Pandemic Heroes”. The Pandemic Hero recognition is a special 2020 category created to honor professionals who went above and beyond to ensure access to services and provide support to those in need of mental health and substance use disorder care during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

As both the Nursing Supervisor for Crossroads Detox and Residential Treatment and DLC’s Infection Control Officer, Ashley has worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure the safety of clients, staff, and visitors. She continually reviewed all best practice guidelines across the entire continuum of care and worked closely with the Department of Health to ensure safety standards were met. Ashley was only weeks into her role as Infection Control Officer prior to the start of the pandemic. To adapt so swiftly to the uncharted circumstances and assist across all three DLC campuses, thirty-plus programs, and 300-plus employees, Ashley truly exemplifies the definition of a hero.

“Congratulations to Dr. Gomez and Ashley on this well-deserved recognition,” said Scott Burgess, DLC President and CEO. “It is a wonderful representation of the outstanding commitment and high level of care provided by our dedicated team.”

“The honorees this year have gone above and beyond for their patients before and during the pandemic,” said Melanie Brown-Woofter, President and CEO of FBHA. “I do not have enough words to express how meaningful these medical professionals are, and I only hope our annual awards can help shine a spotlight on the tremendous work they do.”

About FBHA

The Florida Behavioral Health Association is a non-profit organization that provides statewide leadership on behavioral health policy and practice. FBHA supports member agencies offering services to those in need of mental health and substance use disorder assistance and support. The Association’s members include a broad range of provider types, ranging from small specialty organizations to comprehensive treatment organizations with multiple locations within a geographic region. FBHA is the result of a merger between the Florida Council for Community Mental Health and the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association. For more information please visit www.floridabha.org.

About David Lawrence Centers

Southwest Florida nonprofit David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health (DLC) is a national leader providing compassionate, advanced, and exceptional mental health, substance use, and integrated healthcare solutions, available for children, adolescents and adults. DLC’s innovative treatment includes inpatient, outpatient, residential, and community-based services – a comprehensive system of care funded by community and government support. Each year, DLC serves more than 9,000 people through over 290,000 treatment sessions. To learn more, please call 239-455-8500.