"Call Me Crazy," "Grey's Anatomy," "Mary and Martha" and "Bill Maher" Among Winners for 2013 Sentinel for Health Awards

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The winners of the 14th annual Sentinel for Health Awards were announced in a ceremony last week in Hollywood. Sentinel Awards recognize exemplary achievements in television storylines that inform, educate and motivate viewers to make choices for healthier and safer lives.

The Lifetime movie Call Me Crazy: A Five Film received first place in the Primetime Drama (Major Storyline) category for its portrayals of people dealing with mental illness. It featured an ensemble cast—which included Jennifer Hudson, Melissa Leo, Brittany Snow and Jason Ritter—starring in five short films whose storylines overlap. The ABC hit series Grey's Anatomy, now entering its 10th season, won in the Primetime Drama (Minor Storyline) category for an episode involving a recurring homeless patient whose drinking obscures a serious condition.

The HBO movie Mary and Martha, starring Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn, took top honors in the Global Health category for its story about two women who turn their personal grief into a call for action against malaria in Africa, while Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) won in the Climate Change category for a compilation of the show's interviews on global warming.

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO) was the inaugural winner in a new Sentinel category, Reality, for the topic of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The awards, held this year at the Taglyan Center in Hollywood on Sept. 19, are presented in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by Hollywood, Health & Society, a program of The Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

A full list of the winners follows:

Primetime Drama (Major Storyline)

[ FIRST PLACE ]
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (Lifetime)
Topic: Mental illness
Written by: Deirdre O'Connor, Howard J. Morris, Jan Oxenburg, Stephen Godchaux and Erin Cressida Wilson

[ 2nd PLACE ]
Elementary | Episode compilation/pilot (CBS)
Topic: Drug addiction
Written by: Robert Doherty

Primetime Drama (Minor Storyline)

[ FIRST PLACE ]
Grey's Anatomy | "Second Opinion" (ABC)
Topic: Cyclic vomiting syndrome
Written by: Bill Harper

[ 2nd PLACE ]
Army Wives | "Onward" (Lifetime)
Topic: Spinal injuries
Written by: Rebecca Dameron, T.J. Brady, Rasheed Newson

Primetime Comedy

[ FIRST PLACE ]
Enlightened | Compilation of Levi's alcoholism (HBO)
Topic: Alcoholism and rehabilitation
Written by: Mike White

Global Health

[ FIRST PLACE ]
Mary and Martha (HBO)
Topic: Malaria
Written by: Richard Curtis

Children's Programming

[ FIRST PLACE ]
Doc McStuffins | "Hot Pursuit" (Disney Junior)
Topic: Sun exposure
Written by: Noelle Wright

[ 2nd PLACE ]
Doc McStuffins | "Dusty Bear" (Disney Junior)
Topic: Allergies
Written by: Sascha Paladino

Climate Change

[ FIRST PLACE ]
Real Time with Bill Maher | Compilation of interviews (HBO)
Topic: Climate change
Written by: Adam Felber, Matt Gunn, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Danny Vermont, Bill Maher, Billy Martin and Scott Carter

Reality

[ FIRST PLACE ]
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
Topic: Post-traumatic stress disorder
Produced by: producer Maggie Burbank, executive producer Rick Bernstein and senior producer Joe Perskie

[ 2nd PLACE ]
Married to the Army: Alaska | "Salina: Miscarriage" (OWN)
Topic: Grief associated with miscarriage
Produced by: executive producer Stephanie Noonan Drachkovitch, co-executive producer Adriane Hopper and supervising producer Stacey Book

Daytime Drama

 [ FIRST PLACE ]
Days of Our Lives | "Caroline Brady Battles Alzheimer's" (NBC)
Topic: Alzheimer's
Written by: Gary Tomlin (head writer), Christopher Whitesell (head writer), Lorraine Broderick, Rick Draughon, Christopher Dunn, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan and Fran Myers

Hollywood Health & Society is a one-stop shop for entertainment industry professionals, providing them with accurate and up-to-date information on a wide range of public health topics and climate change through free consultations and briefings with experts. Its funders have included the CDC, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Barr Foundation, the Skoll Global Threats Fund, ClimateWorks, The California Endowment and the Grantham Foundation. HH&S and the CDC are co-sponsors of the Sentinel Awards. For more information about resources for writers, visit www.usc.edu/hhs.

The Norman Lear Center – the home of Hollywood, Health & Society – is a multidisciplinary research and public policy center studying and shaping the impact of entertainment and media on society. Based at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, the Lear Center works to bridge the gap between the entertainment industry and academia, and between them and the public. For more information visit www.learcenter.org.

The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, located at the University of Southern California, is a national leader in education and scholarship in the fields of communication, journalism, public diplomacy and public relations. With an enrollment of more than 2,200 students, USC Annenberg offers doctoral, master's and bachelor's degree programs, as well as continuing development programs for working professionals, across a broad scope of academic inquiry. The school's comprehensive curriculum emphasizes the core skills of leadership, innovation, service and entrepreneurship, and draws upon the resources of a networked university located in the media capital of the world. For more information visit www.annenberg.usc.edu

SOURCE Norman Lear Center