In an effort to support nurses working in the field of mental health, Delphine and Robert Eschbach have given $500,000 to the UCSF School of Nursing to create an endowed chair in psychiatric nursing.

For many years, mental health has been a neglected aspect of health care, receiving far less funding and attention than physical illness. The Eschbachs hope that their gift will encourage research in this critical area.

"We both wanted to do something meaningful for the School and for the field," explains Delphine Eschbach, MS, DNS, a UCSF graduate who is now retired from her career as a clinician and educator.

The first holder of the Robert C. and Delphine Wentland Eschbach Chair in Psychiatric Nursing is Sandra Weiss, PhD, DNSc, RN, FAAN, an investigator who teaches in the School's advanced practice psychiatric/mental health program. Her research studies how different methods of caregiving influence the healthy development of infants with low birth weight, drug exposure or a family history of mental health problems.

"It's amazing what we are finding," Weiss remarks. "Babies with chronic illnesses seem to improve with certain kinds of sensory and emotional stimulus from doctors and parents. We're developing new techniques for working with infants to achieve the best outcome for their future mental health."