Adult Outpatient Mental Health Services Building Officially Opens!
In July, our new Adult Outpatient Mental Health Services building officially opened at 150 North Chestnut Street. We look forward to continuing to serve the Rochester community through our new expanded location. Our new facility is conveniently located between the Central Business District and South Marketview Heights and provides a warm, inclusive atmosphere for our current and future clients. This  location will be the largest adult mental health clinic in downtown Rochester and consolidates services previously offered at our Strong Hospital and Science Parkway locations in one convenient building in the heart of Rochester. Lazos Fuertes, which has also moved to N. Chestnut Street, is the only all bi-lingual and bi-cultural mental health clinic of its kind in the county. Watch a recording of the ribbon-cutting event online here.

Psychiatry Awarded Additional $2.5M to Combat Opioids
We're excited to share the news about a recent award from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that will allow our Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorder to bring practical tools for reducing the use of and overdose from opioids in rural neighborhoods. READ MORE>>>

Eric Caine Named to Commission on Racial and Structural Equity
Eric Caine, MD has recently been selected to join the Commission on Racial and Structural Equity (RASE), a joint venture between Monroe County and the City of Rochester dedicated to examining and developing policies and legislation to overcome systemic and institutional inequities, as well as, racism. As part of this 21-member commission, Caine will help develop policies and legislation to address racial inequities. READ MORE>>>

Kenya Malcolm, Melissa Heatly to Join School Reopening Task Force
Kenya Malcolm, PhD and Melissa Heatly, PhD will join Steven Cook, MD, MPH and Neil Herendeen, MD as URMC representatives to the Finger Lakes Reopening Schools Safely Task Force. They will be providing input for K-12 reopening efforts in the Finger Lakes region and working to ensure the health and safety of our children, teachers, and communities. READ MORE>>>

Kathleen Baynes Named Recipient of Faculty Training Initiative
Congratulations to Kathleen Baynes, MD on being selected as the 2020 recipient for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's (AACAP) Psychodynamic Faculty Training and Mentorship Initiative! As part of this initiative, Baynes will work with national leaders in youth psychodynamic psychotherapy education. READ MORE>>>

Patrick Seche Joins Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council
Patrick Seche, MS has recently been nominated by Governor Cuomo and confirmed by the Senate to the New York State Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council. As a part of the council, Seche will advise the NYS Office of Mental Health and NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports on issues relating to the improvement of behavioral health services in New York State. READ MORE>>>

Children's Institute Named New Host of ROC the Future​
On August 4, The Children's Institute was named as the new host of ROC the Future, Rochester's leading alliance of institutions and community partners focusing on the academic achievement of our community's children. Ann Marie EdD writes, “We are poised to expand our ongoing support in practical ways as a backbone organization of ROC the Future, while we continue to lean in together as a body of conveners to obtain greater equity in educational outcomes for every young person.” READ MORE>>>

Faculty Members Join Expanded Roles
We are excited to share that a number of faculty members have been named to new expanded roles within UR Medicine.

Linda Chaudron, MD will serve as director of a newly formed URMC Center for Gender and Leadership upon her return from a year-long partial sabbatical to develop plans for a new faculty and staff leadership development function while becoming director of the Paul M. Schyve, M.D. Center for Bioethics. As director of The Center for Gender and Leadership, Chaudron will lead efforts to develop leadership skills in faculty and staff across URMC. READ MORE>>

Michael Hasselberg, PhD, has been appointed as UR Medicine's first senior director of Digital Health. In this role, Hasselberg will be in charge of developing the strategy for implementing digital health solutions throughout UR Medicine. READ MORE>>>

Kenya Malcolm, PhD has been named Director of Infant and Early Childhood Initiatives for the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Malcolm currently leads a grant project for training and implementation of Healthy Steps in Pediatric Primary Care Practice in Golisano Children’s Hospital. She also serves as the lead supervisor for clinical care for patients 0-5 years old seen in our Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Service.

 Andrew Cohen, PhD has been named Director of Behavioral Health and Collaborative Care for Pediatric Practice. In this role, Cohen will be working with large, diverse, multidisciplinary teams in Golisano Children's Hospital's Pediatric Primary Care Practice to promote care integration and best meet the behavioral health and psychosocial needs of patients and families.

Michael Scharf Receives Pediatric Academic Societies Service Award
Michael Scharf, MD was recently awarded a Service Award from the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting Program Commitee in recognition of his efforts in reviewing, selecting, and organizing sessions for the annual meeting as well as his dedication to advancing child health and working collaboratively with other researchers and health care professionals.

Annalyn Gibson Awarded Clinical Poster Award 

Annalyn Gibson, MD, a fellow in our Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Progarm, has been awarded a Systems of Care Special Program Clinical Poster Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. This award honors exemplary projects on systems of care approaches to treatment of children and adolescents with mental disorders.

Upcoming Webinars
On August 20, several members of the Department of Psychiatry as well as a parent representative will host a back-to-school webinar focusing on tips for families to help children feel success and maintain wellness, by providing strategies to help cope with an ever-evolving situation. Register online.

Laurence Guttmacher, MD will be presenting a virtual talk, "Eugenics Under the Nazis: Made in America," at Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County on August 24. He will discuss the history of eugenics and its deep history in the United States. Register for the event online. 

As part of University of Rochester Alumni's Experience Rochester lecture series, Michael Scharf, MD will be discussing the mental health struggles that our children, adolescents, and young adults face, and how to help them cope, build resilience, and thrive. Register for the August 27 event on the Rochester Alumni website. 

Psychiatry in the News

• The grand opening of our new Adult Outpatient Mental Health Services building was featured on 13WHAM ABC, News 8 WROC, and Spectrum News. In addition, Telva Olivares, MD and Kathryn Castle, PhD spoke with WXXI News about bringing mental health services to the heart of downtown Rochester.

• Our Project ECHO program was highlighted in an article discussing how the Oneida Center in Utica, NY has been keeping up with psychosocial needs in the rapidly changing social service field.

June Psychiatry Publications 

• Mark Oldham, MD and Hochang Ben Lee, MD were coauthors on a paper discussing cognitive, psychiatric, and quality of life outcomes in adult survivors of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Therapy.
• Steve Silverstein, PhD led a study on differences in retinal structure in individuals with schizophrenia and their implications in understanding broader aspects of pathophysiology, neurodevelopment, and neurodegeneration.
• Steven Lamberti, MD and Robert Weisman, DO wrote an article on forensic assertive community treatment (FACT) and meeting the needs of justice-involved individuals with serious mental illness.
• Julie Lutz, PhD and Kimberly van Orden, PhD published a paper in Medical Clinics of North America on differentiating psychiatric illness versus normative developmental sadness and worry in older adults.
• Elizabeth Karras, PhD was a coauthor on this study in The American Journal of Health Promotion looking at correlates of refusal to firearm-related survey items.
• Ian Rockett, PhD was a coauthor on a paper on the feasibility of a standardized dual screening  for suicide and overdose.

Upcoming Events

• Aug. 20: Systems Integration Project Community Resource Event
• Aug. 20: Helping Our Children Adjust to the New Normal
• Aug. 26: 8th Annual Summer Series: Chris Span, PhD
• Aug. 27: Opioid Overdose Prevention Training (Virtual)
• Aug. 27: Our Youth's Mental Health in Challenging Times
• Sept. 1: COVID-19 Vaccine Educational Seminar