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2004

JULY 2003

Silver Hill Hospital Names New President
& Medical Director

Sigurd H. Ackerman, M.D. has been named President and Medical Director of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, CT. In announcing the appointment, Steve Stillerman, Board Chairman of the nationally recognized psychiatric hospital, noted Dr. Ackerman’s distinguished career in the practice of psychiatry. “Dr. Ackerman brings to the Silver Hill community, to staff, patients and families, the breadth and depth of 25 years of outstanding leadership in clinical care, teaching, research and program development,” Mr. Stillerman said. Dr. Ackerman replaces Dr. Richard Frances who led the hospital as Medical Director and President for the past six years. Dr. Frances remains on the medical staff as Senior Medical Consultant and Director of Public and Professional Education.

Formerly Chief Executive Officer and President of St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, Dr. Ackerman also served as Chairman of the hospital’s Department of Psychiatry. He is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and has held academic titles in psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

In discussing his new position, Dr. Ackerman stressed the hospital’s strengths and areas that he would like to develop. “Silver Hill,” he said, “is known for outstanding treatment of psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders which very frequently—more than half the time—occur together and are called dual disorders. The Hospital is unusual in having the expertise to treat a very broad spectrum of dually diagnosed patients. We see an increasing need for this treatment in the medical community, and we are going to emphasize it more and more.

We also want to extend the scope of our work in helping patients and their families with the process of recovering from an episode of illness. Upon discharge from the hospital, many patients continue to need help with the steps necessary to regain a full life. To achieve this, we plan to offer more transitional support to patients, their families and their therapists in the community.”

Dr. Ackerman concluded, “I’m very excited about being here. Throughout its 72-year history Silver Hill has been, and still is, on the cutting edge of psychiatric care. The physical setting is extraordinarily beautiful and that itself is helpful to the recovery of our patients. The experienced staff is very dedicated and conscious of their responsibilities towards patients and families. The Board of Directors is an active, involved group, truly committed to the betterment of the hospital. All of this together makes for a first-rate facility.”

An honors graduate of Harvard College, Dr. Ackerman received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. He trained in psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where for 10 years his full-time research on the effects of early maternal separation was federally funded by National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) Research Scientist Development Awards and National Institutes of Health (NIH) research project awards. Before joining St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital as Executive Vice President and Medical Director, Dr. Ackerman led a clinical research unit for affective disorders and was the Associate Director for Clinical Affairs and Research at the Eating Disorders Institute of New York Hospital, Cornell University Medical Center, Westchester Division.

Dr. Ackerman is a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of numerous other scientific societies. A reviewer for professional journals, he has published widely on his specific research topics and clinical practice interests which include psychopharmacology, depression, eating disorders, sleep disorders and the treatment of dual diagnosis. Dr. Ackerman and his wife Cecelia McCarton, MD,
a developmental pediatrician, have five children and reside in Stamford, CT.

Established in 1931, Silver Hill Hospital is a private, not-for-profit facility with a full range of mental health programs, including inpatient, partial hospital, intensive outpatient and transitional care.#

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