Dr. Steven S. Sharfstein, fifth president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt Health System, announced to the health system community this week of his intent to retire as president and CEO on July 1, 2016.
Dr. Sharfstein, who started as vice president and medical director in 1986, and then took over as health system president and CEO in 1992, said in an announcement to staff, “It has been my privilege to lead this continuing reinvention of Sheppard Pratt with all of your help, and it has been quite a ride. But, now it is time for new leadership.”
Also a clinical professor and the vice chair of psychiatry at the University of Maryland, Dr. Sharfstein is recognized throughout the community for his work in mental health. Over the last several years, Dr. Sharfstein has held a variety of positions at the National Institute of Mental Health and is a former president of the American Psychiatric Association.
During Dr. Sharfstein’s presidency, Sheppard Pratt Health System has evolved from a psychiatric hospital to a health system inclusive of inpatient, day hospital, intensive outpatient, outpatient, and special education services, with more than 38 locations throughout Maryland. Sharfstein says that during his tenure, “we have helped change the mental health landscape, creating Sheppard Pratt Health System out of the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, and expanding our services beyond the increasingly short-term inpatient stay.”
After reflecting on his nearly 30 years of service to the health system, Dr. Sharfstein remarks, “I will do everything I can to make sure that my successor has the opportunity that I have had to lead [what I think is] the best psychiatric health system in the United States.”
The board of trustees, under the leadership of Dr. Byron Forbush, is establishing a search process to lead the effort to appoint the sixth president and CEO. The search committee will be chaired by The Honorable J. Frederick Motz, a long time Sheppard Pratt Health System trustee.
"Dr. Sharfstein has helped to shape and transform our health system, and we are confident that his legacy at Sheppard Pratt will live on for decades to come,” says Dr. Bryon Forbush, chair of the board of trustees.
For updates on the progress of our search, please visit our website at www.sheppardpratt.org.
About Sheppard Pratt
Sheppard Pratt is the largest private, nonprofit provider of mental health, substance use, developmental disability, special education, and social services in the country. A nationwide resource, Sheppard Pratt provides services across a comprehensive continuum of care, spanning both hospital- and community-based resources. Since its founding in 1853, Sheppard Pratt has been innovating the field through research, best practice implementation, and a focus on improving the quality of mental health care on a global level. Sheppard Pratt has been consistently recognized as a top national psychiatric hospital by U.S. News & World Report for more than 30 years.