 |
|
 |
| print version |
|
|
$25 Million Gift to Launch New Child, Adolescent Mental Health Center
|
|
|
|
UCSF has received one of the largest single donations ever given to an American university for child and adolescent mental health services. The $25 million gift will jump-start the creation of a comprehensive program dedicated to improving the emotional well-being of Bay Area youth, regardless of socioeconomic status.
The Pritzker Center, named for donors Lisa and John Pritzker, will combine and expand the nationally recognized programs and services of San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center (SFGH) and the specialty clinics, training, and research of UCSF's Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute into one cohesive program and building. The collaboration builds upon the successful partnership between UCSF and the City and County of San Francisco, an academic/public partnership like few others in the world.
Tipper Gore, who served as former President Clinton's mental healthpolicy advisor, will chair the Center's leadership council. Miriam Martinez, PhD, UCSF associate clinical professor of psychiatry and pediatrics and director of the division of infant, child and adolescent psychiatry at SFGH, will serve as executive director of the Center.
"We can have a positive impact on the well-being of our community if we treat mental illness in children," says David Kessler, MD, dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs at UCSF. "Half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14. About one out of every five children and adolescents has a diagnosable mental disorder, and the vast majority do not receive any type of mental health treatment. San Francisco alone has about 6,000 vulnerable youth who are not getting the mental health care they need."
"With 80 percent of children who need mental health services going untreated, our youth are facing a mental health crisis of catastrophic proportions," Gore says. "By creating a model that emphasizes comprehensive care, eliminates barriers to access, and trains caregivers in the latest practices, The Pritzker Center at UCSF will pave the way for other communities to begin to address the needs of our most vulnerable citizens."
"Through years of volunteer involvement with the child trauma programs of San Francisco General Hospital, I have seen the demand for mental health services continue to skyrocket. Despite the clear need, there is a real lack of funds to care for these children," says Lisa Pritzker. "The surgeon general declared children's mental health as a national priority in a year 2000 report, but these programs are still underfunded, with the majority of our nation's mentally ill youth going without the care that could make the difference between growing into a healthy, successful adult or not."
"With this gift to create The Pritzker Center," adds John Pritzker, "we hope to make that difference for Bay Area children, especially those who are underserved, at-risk, and in need of culturally sensitive approaches."
To support child and adolescent mental health services at UCSF, contact Angelo Turner, at 415/476-3621 or aturner@support.ucsf.edu.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
