Each year, the American Psychiatric Association recognizes one of their members whose outstanding contributions in the care and understanding of the victims of disaster with the Bruno Lima Award for Excellence in Disaster Psychiatry. We are proud to share that the recipient of the 2023 Bruno Lima Award is Anthony T. Ng, MD, DFAPA, medical director, Community Services, Northern Light Acadia Hospital in Bangor.
“Dr. Ng was recognized for his outstanding career supporting disaster affected communities, including work in New York after 9/11 through his excellent work as a member this committee during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Joshua C. Morganstein, MD, chair, Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster, American Psychiatric Association. He continued, “Most recently Dr. Ng provided direct on-the-ground support to communities impacted by and displaced during the war in Ukraine. He has been a tireless advocate, supporter, and provider of care at the individual and system level for individuals following a wide range of disasters, including mass violence, war, climate-related disasters, and public health emergencies.”
Among the noteworthy events and disasters where Dr. Ng has provided psychiatric expertise, care, and support are the crash of Flight 587 in New York City (2001), the Asian Tsunamis (2004), Hurricanes Rita and Katrina (2005), and several mass school shootings, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings (2012).
Beyond the front lines, Dr. Ng has supported disaster psychiatry in a number of other ways including membership in the Disaster Section of the Canadian Psychiatric Association; as a consultant with numerous state and federal organizations and nonprofits such as the American Red Cross; and he is called upon often to present both nationally and locally on disaster psychiatry issues and disaster psychiatry training courses and curriculum. In addition, Dr. Ng has been widely published as an expert on disaster psychiatry and disaster mental health.
The award is named in honor of Dr. Bruno Lima, a Brazilian-born psychiatrist and member of the APA’s original Task Force on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster who was an expert on the mental health of survivors of natural disasters. Learn more about the award here.
The Bruno Lima Award in Disaster Psychiatry was presented at the 2023 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco in May.
