A Big Thank You For a Successful Winter Celebration
Thank you to everyone who helped make our Winter Celebration at the Memorial Art Gallery a huge success! We had a great turnout despite the snowy weather and celebrated another year of outstanding work by our employees with music, food, dancing, and an art search bingo. We're excited to share that the live painting by artist Corinne Fallone will soon be displayed in our first floor administrative hallway. We would love to hear employee feedback on future celebrations and get-togethers. If you have not yet, please take a few minutes out of your day to complete the followup survey.

Linda Chaudron Featured in "Women, Unlimited" Article
Linda Chaudron, MD, Associate Vice President and Senior Associate Dean for Inclusion and Culture Development at URMC, was featured in Rochester Medicine's "Women, Unlimited" cover story. In this interview, she talked about closing the gender gap in health care. READ MORE>>>

New Pediatric Behavioral Health Building Holds Sneak Peek Reception 

On February 25, our new Golisano Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Building held a "sneak peek" reception for community members who made this initiative possible. Patrick Brophy, MD, Physician-in-Chief of Golisano Children’s Hospital, and Michael Scharf, MD, Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, shared updates on construction. The event also included a steel beam signing for donors. The building is slated to open this summer and will more than double the space for outpatient and partial hospitalization services. READ MORE>>>

Psychiatry APA Faculty & Alumni Reception in Philadelphia
The Department of Psychiatry will be holding a reception for faculty and alumni on April 27 at the American Psychiatric Association's 2020 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. The reception will take place at Maggiano's Little Italy from 7 PM to 9 PM. Please join us if you are attending the conference! We would love to see you there. Be sure to RSVP to the reception here.

Mongkae Siripornsawan, Michele Lawrence are 2020 Health Care Heroes
Mongkae Siripornsawan, MD and Michele Lawrence, MA, MPH were selected as Rochester Business Journal's 2020 Health Care Heroes in the Mental Health and Management categories respectively. This award recognizes organizations and individuals making a significant impact on the quality of health care in our area. READ MORE>>>

Grant Supports Idiopathic Hypersomnia Research
The Hypersomnia Foundation recently awarded a grant to Todd M Bishop, PhD for the development and validation of a case ascertainment algorithm for idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) within the Veterans Health Administration's  electronic medical record system. The study aims to estimate the prevalence of IH diagnosis among veterans, examine treatment patterns, and explore co-occurring physical and behavioral health conditions with an emphasis on suicide risk factors. READ MORE>>>

Healing Tunes Brings Live Music to 1-9200

Our Inpatient Medicine in Psychiatry (IMIP) unit on 1-9200 held their first Weekend Wellness Music Program in January in partnership with the Eastman Performance Arts Medicine initiative. Healing Tunes is supported through the Community Division Meliora Fund and brings biweekly live music performances to the IMIP unit.

Study Finds Link Between Reported Pain Intensity, Suicide Attempts
VAntage Point, a blog by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, recently featured a study by Lisham Ashrafioun, PhD, Todd Bishop, PhD, Peter Britton, PhD, Wilfred Pigeon, PhD, and Cathleen Kane of Canandaigua VA Medical Center looking at the link between reported pain intensity and suicide attempts in veterans. READ MORE>>>

Medicine in Psychiatry Services Accepting New Patients
The Medicine in Psychiatry Services (MIPS)'s outpatient office at Brighton Health Center on W. Henrietta Road is now opening its panel to new patients. This outpatient location will provide primary care services to adults coping with serious mental illness. Referrals and inquiries should be forwarded to Jennifer Hart.

Clerkship Students Begin Psychiatry Rotations
On February 17, third-year medical students began their rotations in the Department of Psychiatry. In this four-week rotation, students will learn about psychiatry and the biopsychosocial approach to all patients while having scheduled experiences in our units. Please welcome the following students to our clinical spaces: Chiamaka Azogini, Cihan Caglayan, Lyndon Chumbley, Matthew Custer, Jonathan Dillen, Michael Haft, Jason Hwang, Trent Johnson, David Lawton, Gayin Lee, Armand Sebastion, and Korry Wirth. 

Match Day for Clinical Psychology Internship Program
We are proud to welcome some of the best and brightest applicants to our APA Accredited Clinical Psychology Internship Program for the 2020-2021 training year. The following individuals will join us on August 1: Sonia Altavilla, Kassandra Scioli, Caitlin Titus, Ana Vallejo Sefair, Rae Drach, Jessica Kusina, Taylor MacLean, and Leah Reece. 

Psychiatry In the News

• Andrea Garroway, PhD spoke with JAMA about using trauma-informed approaches in care to support patients who have experienced violence.
• Steven Silverstein, PhD spoke with VICE on the complex connections between congenital blindness and schizophrenia.
• Michael Scharf, MD appeared on the Bob Lonsberry Show on WHAM 1180 to discuss youth mental health. 

Upcoming Events & Lectures

• Mar. 4: On Complexity and the Emergence of Suicidal Behavior
• Mar. 6: Developmental Psychopathology Brown Bag Lunch
• Mar. 10: Chaplaincy: A Dance Where You Might Not Know Your Partner
• Mar. 13: Eastman Performing Arts Medicine: John Egan
• Mar. 18: Psychiatry Grand Rounds- Multidimensional Sleep Health
• Mar. 27: Eastman Performing Arts Medicine: Ocorr/Le Jazz Duo
• Apr. 1: Psychiatry Grand Rounds- New Antidepressants: Is Anything New?