LAKEWOOD --Dr. Brian Gilfeather, a new member of Western State Hospital’s psychiatric team, brings years of health care experience to Washington’s largest state-operated psychiatric hospital.
Dr. Gilfeather is a graduate of Harvard College and earned his medical degree at Boston University School of Medicine, and comes to Western State Hospital well prepared to address the challenges of mental illness.
He was hired to lead the hospital’s East Campus and Habilitative Mental Health.
Dr. Gilfeather led a combat stress team in Kuwait, where he served as consultant to multinational joint task force leaders on mental health issues in hazardous and austere environments. His military assignments focused on delivering patient care and making critical decisions in the most challenging environments. He directly participated in the medical care of more than 4,000 service members onboard multiple Navy ships and units, some of which further deployed in Europe and the Middle East.
He received the U.S. Navy Meritorious Service Medal for his achievements.
Before specializing in psychiatry, Dr. Gilfeather’s medical career with the U.S. Navy also included serving as a flight surgeon with NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and as head pathologist at the Groton Naval Hospital in Connecticut.
“Dr. Gilfeather is well-rounded and well-grounded in psychiatry and physical health treatment. He also brings experience in working within large government systems and knows the ins and outs of working with teams to resolve complicated mental health policy issues,” said Cheryl Strange, the hospital’s chief executive officer.
“Helping patients in their recovery process is usually best when it can be done in the patient’s own community, as close as possible to family, friends and other support systems,” said Gilfeather. “These familiar community supports are key to maintaining recovery when the patient leaves the hospital’s system of care. This work is very meaningful to me and has been an important calling in my life for as long as I can remember.
“This quote from Steve Jobs sums up how I feel about the work I do, ‘if you are working on something you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.’ “
His post-military experience includes using web-based and telemedicine platforms to bring mental health resources to remote Oklahoma communities, where services were severely lacking. He provided inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care for Kitsap Mental Health Services, supporting the need for continuity of mental health care in local communities.
Dr. Gilfeather most recently served with the Veteran’s Administration at American Lake as the psychiatrist in charge of compensation and pensions for veterans with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorders.