GH wins important award for spotlighting Alzheimer's disease

General Hospital took home honors at the Sentinel Awards for its heartbreaking Alzheimer's storyline involving Sonny Corinthos' dad, Mike Corbin (Max Gail).

General Hospital fans have given the ABC soap opera's recent Alzheimer's storyline rave reviews, and now, so have the Sentinel Awards.

GH star Laura Wright (Carly Corinthos) was proud to share via social media that the storyline revolving around Sonny's father, Mike Corbin (Max Gail), took home top honors at the ceremony that celebrates shows that spotlight important topics.

"Congratulations [to GH's executive producer] Frank Valentini for receiving the Sentinel Award for the Alzheimer's storyline last night!!!" she posted on Instagram. "I loved sharing the evening with you and my GH family."

GH also shared the news on its official Twitter feed, along with a photo of the cast attendees and the caption: "We were thrilled to be honored at last night's #SentinelAwards. Mike's battle with #Alzheimers has reminded all of us that the war is far from over."

The Sentinel Awards -- which are presented by Hollywood, Health & Society (HH&S), a program of The Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism -- gives honors to shows that highlight important issues and topics like sexual assault, autism, nuclear safety, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, and mental health and disabilities.

GH was alongside eleven other honorees, including 13 Reasons Why (sexual assault), Chicago Med (HIV/AIDS), Empire (abortion), GLOW (abortion), Grey's Anatomy (maternal health), Jane The Virgin (breast cancer), Madam Secretary (nuclear safety), One Day at a Time (mental health), Sesame Street (autism), Sofia the First (vision impairment), and Speechless (disability).

Soap Central spoke with Wright earlier this summer about GH's Alzhiemer's storyline, which she said has impacted fans on a sweeping level.

"Every time we do a fan event, this comes up. Everyone is dealing with it on some level, so the response has been incredible; they're really affected by it," she said. "It's not your typical mob story or your story where something is happening in the hospital. It's a story that is happening in many homes in America. When you look at the statistics, it's in more homes than we realize."

She continues: "It's a painful story, and it's a painful reality. And yes, you have beautiful moments, but it's hard to watch your parent, your mother, your father, your family member, slip away, and to watch them know they're slipping away. I think it's also important that we tell the story of the caregivers, because the caregiver side is hugely important. The caregiver is a thankless job, you know? You're giving yourself completely to someone who doesn't know who you are or could be verbally abusive or non-accepting. And I think showing that is so important in telling the story as authentically as we can. It's very important. And I think it's great doing it with a character like Sonny [Maurice Benard], who is so in control and has everything together, and if he doesn't, he makes sure. But with this, he can't do anything but ride this wave on how it happens."

For more information about the Sentinel Awards, click here.

This is the second General Hospital storyline this year to earn acclaim from outside the world of soap media. In July, the Lily honored the show's "Me Too" storyline.

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Would you like to leave a congratulatory message for GH in celebration of the soap being honored at this year's Sentinel Awards? What do you think of the way the ABC soap opera has told Mike's Alzheimer's storyline? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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