San Diego doctor transforming lives of mental health patients after son's suicide

Dr. Robert Gillespie has launched Jayden's Helping Hand as part of a new partnership with Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital to fill a critical gap in mental health care.

Jayden Gillespie’s quick wit and unifying personality was on display during a short video of his 2017 commencement speech at Canyon Crest Academy High School.

“Only some will change the world. All will change a life," Jayden said from behind the podium.

Eight years later, the high school presidential scholar's words have proven true. Jayden continues to change lives through the help of his family, even after his untimely death.

“When this happened, it was so devastating," said Dr. Gillespie, Jayden's father.

Jayden was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2020 while attending Loyola Marymount University. Two years later, at 22 years old, he took his own life.

“The only way I could get through it would be to talk about it and to try to make a difference," Jayden's father said.

Now, Dr. Gillespie, a cardiologist, isn't just making a difference with heart health. He's focused on mental health and the stigmas surrounding it.

“Mental health requires discussion. I liken it to cardiovascular disease that I treat every day," Dr. Gillespie said. "We know that patients have cardiac disease, and that's acceptable, or if you have diabetes or whatever it might be. But when it comes to mental health, somehow, it's something that we should be able to control."

As a result, Dr. Gillespie and his family have established a foundation in their son's name to help others. Through it, they’ve launched an initiative with Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital called Jayden’s Helping Hand.

It helps fill a critical gap: providing underinsured people with funding for the hospital's intensive outpatient program.

“Every time we send a patient without a clear treatment plan, we are cringing, we are worried, this person isn’t going to make it,” said Dr. Fadi Nicolas, the chief medical officer at Sharp Behavioral Health, who’ll lead the program. “We’re kind of sending them to the unknown, so to speak. So having that partnership really decreases our fears and concerns for a patient, that the person might have a better chance of making it."

Through the foundation's annual golf fundraiser in August, Jayden’s Helping Hand recently gave a hand up to its first patient.

As Dr. Gillespie continues to help others from feeling the pain of loss that he has, he says he still feels his son’s presence, whose words provide inspiration, especially when he works out at their favorite spot on the beach.

“He tells me, 'Keep going, Dad,' you know, but it's mainly with the workouts,” Dr. Gillespie chuckled.

Jayden’s Helping Hand is in the process of working to provide care for more patients.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal thoughts, help is available by calling or texting 988.