Dean Kent Brooks (July 22, 1916 – May 30, 2013) was an American physician and actor. Brooks was the superintendent of

Oregon State Hospital Oregon State Hospital is a public psychiatric hospital in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the state's capital city of Salem, Oregon, Salem with a smaller satellite campus in Junction City, Oregon, Junction City opened in 2014. Founded in ...

for 27 years from 1955 to 1982. He was born in

Colony, Kansas Colony is a city in Ozark Township, Anderson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 381. History Colony got its start in the year 1872 following construction of the railroad through that territ ...

Life and career

Dean Brooks graduated from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

with a bachelor's degree and the University of Kansas Medical School in Kansas City, Kansas in 1942. During college and medical school, he was an accomplished trombonist and played in nightclubs with some of the most well-known big band performers in the country. He joined the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

in 1943 and became a naval medical officer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

assigned to

Landing Ship, Tank A Landing Ship, Tank (LST) is a ship first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto a low-slope beach with no dock (maritime), docks or pier ...

s and saw battle on seven occasions. In 1955, he became the superintendent of Oregon State Hospital in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

. Brooks was known as a progressive state hospital administrator who established a Superintendent's Committee composed of patients and a study process on dehumanization in which both patients and staff reviewed the state hospital from the perspective of the patients themselves rather than the "purchasing agent". He initiated a psychiatric residency program at Oregon State Hospital which gained accreditation after only two years. An outdoors program successfully integrated staff with patients in hiking and mountaineering trips. In the 1970s, he granted permission for the film ''

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

'' (1975) to be shot in the Oregon Hospital, letting the film crew stay at the mental hospital; Brooks also portrayed "Dr. John Spivey" in the film. Dr. Brooks was known for his "patient-centered" approach to caring for the patients at Oregon State Hospital and monitored the treatment of patients by making rounds on every shift. He was deeply involved in community and church activities locally by founding the Willamette Valley Hospice and developing the Salem Pops Orchestra. After his retirement in 1982, he moved briefly to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and then to Everett, Washington, where he continued his work in mental health advocacy when the Governor of Washington appointed him Chair of the Western Washington State Hospital Governing Board where he served for 12 years. Dr. Brooks was also active with Boards for Snohomish County Mental Health and Compass Health. Because of his strong interests in the criminalization of the mentally ill, he established a fund under the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care to "decriminalize the mentally ill" and recruited many renowned leaders from across the United States in psychiatry, law, journalism and psychology to work as the Dorothea Dix Think Tank.

Personal life

Brooks was married to Ulista Jean Moser, until she died in 2006. Brooks died of natural causes in his

home, at the age of 96.

Filmography

*''

'' (1975) as Dr. Spivey

References

External links

*
Obituary for Dean Brooks
at Legacy.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Deans 1916 births 2013 deaths People from Anderson County, Kansas Male actors from Salem, Oregon University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni Male actors from Kansas American hospital administrators United States Navy personnel of World War II Physicians from Oregon United States Navy Medical Corps officers