Arthur Papas, MD, started medical school in 1964, nine years after the American Medical Association identified alcoholism as a disease. In the six decades since, Dr. Papas has been a pioneer in the field, working on the front lines in the development of treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital, both world-renowned institutions within Mass General Brigham.
Now, in addition to his work as a highly respected faculty member and physician researcher within the Mass General Brigham Department of Psychiatry, he is building on this legacy through his philanthropy. Dr. Papas and his family have endowed a lecture series in his name, and he has also designated a portion of his retirement account to support the hospitals’ future.
“I want to leave a mark at the finest medical institutions in the country — and, probably, the world.”
A new framework for successful recovery
Dr. Papas began his groundbreaking work on AUD at Wright Air Force Base hospital in Dayton, Ohio, where he served during the Vietnam War. The military was highly motivated to find effective treatments because many service members used alcohol to self-medicate for post-traumatic stress disorder and other stresses. At the time, alcohol abuse was often viewed as a personal failing, and, in the worst cases, it led to destitution or death.
Dr. Papas helped build one of the first inpatient alcohol treatment units in the country, developing protocols that remain in place to this day: detoxification, medication to lessen cravings, individual and group therapy, and mandatory participation in Alcoholics Anonymous.
In 1969, Dr. Papas was awarded an Air Force Commendation Medal for his work and was soon recruited to Mass General to establish an outpatient AUD program.
“It was a tremendous honor to come to Mass General. They had the best collaborative minds — bright, creative people working together and getting superior results,” Dr. Papas reflects.
Coming to Mass General not only advanced his career. Arthur also met his wife, Athena (Tina) Papas, DMD, PhD, who was training at the hospital. Dr. Tina Papas has had an impactful career in academic medicine and dental research, including serving as primary investigator on multiple clinical trials of new medicines for the treatment of Sjögren’s disease, a rare autoimmune condition.
Through his decades-long career at Mass General, Dr. Papas designed the hospital’s first AUD outpatient treatment program and collaborated extensively with the burgeoning AUD community — recovering alcoholics, halfway houses, a district attorney, and other state leaders — to successfully advocate for the decriminalization of public drunkenness in 1971. This pivotal law meant people began to receive treatment, rather than jailtime.
A family affair
Dr. Papas takes great pride in teaching the next generation of physicians and advancing research-infused care. To honor this focus, the Arthur N. Papas, MD, Family Lecture in Psychiatry was established in 2018 with support from the whole Papas family, including their three accomplished adult children, who are proud of their parents’ legacy. Each year, Dr. Papas helps to choose the lecturer for the annual event, often focusing on the intersection of psychiatry and neuroscience, a collaborative interest of his for decades. And in honor of the gifts Drs. Arthur and Tina Papas included in their estate plans, they were invited to join the Phillips Society, a group of dedicated donors who have committed to advance the future of healthcare through a planned gift.
Dr. Papas says what inspired him to include Mass General and Mass General Brigham in his estate plans is something deeply personal. His father owned a once-thriving pharmacy in Harvard Square, Cambridge, a business he eventually lost — in part, because he never refused patients who couldn’t pay. Overwhelmed by the failure, his father died by suicide shortly before Dr. Papas was born. “I want to leave a legacy in his honor, so that more people can receive the treatment they need, and fewer families endure the loss of a loved one,” he says.
Last year, Drs. Arthur and Tina Papas attended their first Legacy Society luncheon, an event held to honor donors who have included a Mass General Brigham institution in their estate plans. They were impressed by the caliber of speakers and confident about the opportunities for education, innovation, and expanded access to exceptional care at Mass General Brigham Psychiatry.
“With Maurizio Fava as chair of the combined Mass General Brigham psychiatry department, we feel confident that someone of his stature and personality will build on Mass General Brigham’s excellence and initiative to create something new, yet progressive,” Dr. Papas says. “I am proud to support Mass General and Mass General Brigham with the expectation they will use good judgment, as they have since its founding, to make a real difference in the lives of patients.”
To learn about including Massachusetts General Hospital in your estate plans, please contact Kathleen Duffy, assistant vice president of gift planning, at mghdevpg@mgh.harvard.edu or 617-643-2220 for more information.
