
A Tribute to Dr. (Bea) Braun
To Shine, was her calling!
Dr. Beatrice (Bea) Braun
2021-2013
The late Dr. Braun was truly a shining example of giving back! Two days a week she could be seen at the Crescent Community Clinic volunteering her time as a psychiatrist and counselor. Her compassion for those unable to afford psychiatric care also prompted her to offer free counseling to the county's mental health clients at Hernando's Health Department.
"If there was any one person who deserved the undying gratitude of the citizens of Hernando County, it was Bea Braun," said long-time friend Nick Morana. It is clear that Dr. Braun's compassion and service were examples of a warm, generous personality.
"To me, she provided a beautiful example for everyone to follow" said Barbara Sweinberg, Administrator at Crescent Community Clinic.
Dr. Braun is often remembered for helping the Nature Coast Community Health Center in Hernando County. For more than two decades, she tirelessly gave her time to senior citizens and those needing a helping hand in the Gulf Region.
Dr. Braun's legacy includes Shine, Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders, a program she helped create as a volunteer with her late husband Dr. Richard Braun. Together, they operated a family psychiatrist practice in New York for 30 years after which they retired to Florida where they continued to work in tandem as volunteers helping various organizations.
Dr. Braun's accolades shone during her vibrant career. She was appointed the first Director of the State's Department of Elder Affairs. On a national level, she served eight years working as a Board Member of AARP. As an AARP advocate, she travelled to Washington DC. lobbying for the creation of volunteer Medicare/Medicaid assistance programs to help Seniors navigate the system's regulatory maze. In 2009, she was the recipient of the organization's prestigious Ethel Percy Andrus Award for Community Service.
Dr. Braun worked tirelessly for others, and her exceptional years of service will be remembered. Upon discovering her calling at Manhattanville College in New York as a Maryknoll Sister (a congregation of women dedicated to foreign mission outreach through the Roman Catholic Church) she later earned her doctorate in psychiatry from Marquette University in Milwaukee. During the Korean War, at the request of General Douglas McArthur, she and five other Maryknoll women were assigned to conduct humanitarian services to refugees in Pusan, Korea. She spent seventeen years in Korea and returned to America to begin a rotating internship at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City. Afterwards, she worked in her psychiatry practice with her beloved husband Richard.
It is an honor to pay tribute to such a charitable individual whose accomplishments and philanthropy have inspired so many! Her lifetime journeys are truly heartfelt, wonderful stories!
She is truly an inspiration!
__Carolyn De Los Santos- Volunteer, Crescent Community Clinic, Spring Hill, Florida