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In a year when Thanksgiving looked very different with the COVID pandemic, staff members at Lazos Fuertes, our healthcare clinic for Spanish-speaking families, wanted to help make the lives of their patients a bit easier during the holidays.
Evelyn Padilla, LCSW, as well as Evelyn Santos, RN, decided to create a Thanksgiving basket with a turkey as well as Latino food items that are otherwise not normally given in a basket. The winner was selected from a random drawing of patient names submitted by employees, and the basket was delivered by Padilla and Santos themselves!
Thank you to both of you for helping make a difference in our community!
Peter Wyman Appointed to Community
Preventive Services Task Force
Peter Wyman, PhD has recently been named to the Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) for a five year term beginning January 2022. As part of this role, Wyman will receive scientific and administrative support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to identify, review, and evaluate community-based programs, services, and policies that save lives, increase longevity, and improve quality of life. CPSTF recommendations are based on a systematic review process that evaluates all existing evidence on the effectiveness and economic efficiency of these programs, services, and policies.
Community Members Help Donate Tablets to Inpatient Behavioral Unit
Our pediatric inpatient behavioral health unit is currently seeking donations to purchase tablets for kids who are receiving treatment! With the COVID-19 pandemic this year, tablets have been vital to ensuring communication with families as well as providing different therapy options with the patients and a way for kids to stay up-to-date on school work while in treatment. We are grateful for our community members and Var Data LLC for their support so far in keeping families connected. If you are interested in donating, please contact Brenda
Geglia. READ MORE>>>
Celebrating Bonnie Strollo
It is with mixed emotions as we share the news that Bonnie Strollo, EdD, MS, RN, PMHNP-BC will be retiring at the end of December. Strollo distinguished herself as an outstanding Pediatric Nurse and then as an outstanding Psychiatric Nurse and leader before becoming a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in 2003. Since then, she has served as the Director of the Pediatric Psychiatry Consultation and Liaison Service.
Speaking on her accomplishments, Michael Scharf, MD states, "Bonnie is a talented clinician, educator, mentor, role model, and valued colleague. She played a key role in my own early career development, like for so many others, and I cannot express sufficiently with words how grateful I am for her efforts and presence over the years."
Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness Outpatient Services’ Racial Justice Committee is partnering with The Bridge Art Gallery for their first call for art of 2021! The show, Youth for Racial Justice: Not A Moment But A Movement, is open to all youth under age 21. The deadline for submissions is January 8th, 2021 by emailing the Bridge Art Gallery or by dropping off pieces at Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness locations. Please share with anyone you think may be interested in participating! READ MORE>>>
Ed Englerth Recognized in HBA Fellowship Program
Ed Englerth III, Administrator in Psychiatry, was recently recognized in a ceremony celebrating recent graduates of the Health Care Business Academy Fellowship Program. This program provides opportunities to leaders across URMC to enhance their knowledge of current healthcare issues, connect and grow new relationships with colleagues, meet community leaders, and learn about our vast network of community based organizations. Please join us in congratulating Ed on this accomplishment!
Webinar: Child Abuse and Neglect Meets the Press
The TRANSFORM Research Center will be holding a webinar on December 17th from noon to 1 PM. In this webinar, two experienced reporters will share their experiences with covering stories involving child abuse and neglect and provide insights for professionals who work in the field of child abuse and neglect on how to best interact with journalists and the media. Register for the event online or sign up to receive the event recording here.
Using Telebehavioral Health to Support and Ease ED Burden
Jennifer Richman, MD and Michael Hasselberg, MS, PhD recently spoke with Healthcare IT News on how the Psychiatric Assessment Officer Telepsychiatry Model, a new telehealth model, is being used to support patients who seek behavioral health services and their health care providers in rural areas. READ MORE>>>
December Community Conversation Recording Now Available to View
Our Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness services held their last Community Conversation of 2020 on December 3rd. A recording of the webinar, which focused on medication management and what to expect when seeking medication for behavioral health challenges in children and teens, is now available online in English and Spanish.
"Good Night Lights" Return to UR Medicine
Starting December 9th and continuing for every Wednesday until December 18, first responders will be shining the lights of their patrol vehicles and fire trucks to wish young patients at the hospital a happy holiday season. In order to maintain an emergency route and safe travel, the main staging area will be just outside of the Children’s Hospital Tower on Crittenden Blvd. As this means those in our Child and Adolescent Inpatient Unit would not be able to see the main display, a dedicated group of Public Safety, Psychiatry, and Golisano Children’s Hospital staff and faculty will create a display of support that is visible to those on the unit. Employees are invited to join in waving a flashlight or your cellphone on Wednesdays starting at 5:45 PM in the Saunders Research Building Lot.
Supporting Good Causes This Holiday Season
Did you know that a number of our Psychiatry members are involved with non-profit and charitable organizations! Please see below for some causes to support this holiday season!
- Zoey's Lovely Heart Club, started by our very own Megan Lytle-Flint, PhD and her husband Patrick, recently held their 5th Annual Fundraiser which raised funds for the Golisano Children's Hospital and to provide gift bags and stockings to families in the NICU! If you are still looking for a tree, wreath or otherwise just looking to support a great cause this holiday season, message Zoey's Lovely Heart Club on their Facebook page.
- In a year where many families are struggling financially, The Boys and Girls Club of Rochester is holding a toy drive for children in underserved sections of our city. The deadline for gifts is December 10th. Donate directly to the toy wishlist here.
- The Climate Psychiatry Alliance, a non-profit studying the impact of climate change on mental health, is holding their annual fundraiser. Funds raised will support projects such as creating a tool to educate the public on issues related to climate and mental health and developing a national referral network for patients seeking care for climate-related mental health concerns. READ MORE>>>
November Psychiatry Publications
- Wendi Cross, PhD was a coauthor on a paper published in Crisis examining the effectiveness of active learning strategies in suicide prevention gatekeeper training.
Several members of Psychiatry published a paper in Social Science and Medicine analyzing the perspectives of African American males experiencing civil unrest to determine factors influencing community violence. Racist policies and practices, economic opportunity and mobility, and displays of power in the community impacted escalating violence.
Wilfred Pigeon, PhD, alongside Jason DeViva, PhD of Yale School of Medicine, published an editorial expanding on Werner et al.’s research on fear of sleep as a clinically significant construct in trauma and PTSD.
Anton Porsteinsson, MD was a coauthor on a paper examining hippocampal volume and cortical thickness in subjects with the Apolipoprotein ε4 allele. There was a correlation between hippocampal volume atrophy and cortical thinning and cognitive change in APOE ε4/ε4 subjects with early Alzheimer’s disease.
Steven Silverstein, PhD was a coauthor in this review of mental health needs in people with visual impairment. The paper suggest that a better understanding of the mechanisms linking visual impairment with mental health challenges is needed in order to improve the detection and treatment of mental health problems in this population.
Catherine Cerulli, JD, PhD was a coauthor on this study using machine learning to analyze social media for the reasons given for staying in/ leaving abusive relationships. The results of the study will provide insight into the dynamics of partner violence.
- Thomas O’Connor, PhD was a co-author in this paper examining the influence of prenatal androgen exposure on children's gender-typed behavior.
- Yeates Conwell, MD was a co-author on an article examining existing research surrounding suicide in individuals with Lewy body dementia.
- Steve Silverstein, PhD was a co-author in a paper published in Psychiatry Research looking at how nicotine affects performance on cognitive tasks.
- Yeates Conwell, MD was a co-author on a paper examining associations between well-being, suicide and self-harm in older adults.
Eric Caine, MD was a coauthor in this study examining social media data to analyze people’s psychosocial concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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