[NYAPRS Enews] OMH Commissioner Hogan Names Dr. Lloyd Sederer as OMH Medical Director

Wed Apr 18 17:06:51 EDT 2007

NYAPRS Note: NYAPRS is pleased to congratulate Dr Lloyd Sederer's
appointment as new OMH Medicaid Director. Following is the announcement
from OMH, as well as recent letters from Dr Sederer to his colleagues in
New York City.

OMH Commissioner Hogan Names Dr. Lloyd Sederer as OMH Medical Director

        Michael F. Hogan, Ph.D., Commissioner of the New York State
Office of Mental Health (OMH), today announced that Lloyd I. Sederer,
M.D. of New York City, will join OMH as Medical Director effective April
19, 2007.  In this role, Dr. Sederer will provide medical leadership for
New York's $4B mental health system, including accredited hospitals and
community services in every county of New York State. 

        Dr. Sederer served as Executive Deputy Commissioner for Mental
Hygiene Services in the New York City Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene from 2002-2007.  His leadership was crucial on expanding and
improving mental hygiene services for the three disability areas of
mental health, mental retardation/developmental disabilities, and
chemical dependency across the spectrum from children to older adults.
Previously, he served as Director, Division of Clinical Services for the
American Psychiatric Association and as Medical Director and Executive
Vice President of McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, one of the
world's foremost psychiatric hospitals.  He has served as a faculty
member at Harvard Medical School, and published over 150 professional
books and articles.  Dr. Sederer received his medical degree from SUNY's
Upstate Medical Center.

        Dr. Hogan said, "I am delighted that Dr. Sederer is joining our
team.  His reputation for excellence and concern for quality are known
nationally and internationally.  His knowledge of mental health as well
as chemical dependency and mental retardation care in New York City will
benefit us greatly, and I expect his leadership will indeed help us
transform mental health care in New York State."

        Dr. Sederer said, "I am honored by this appointment and eager to
join Commissioner Hogan and OMH staff in making our state mental health
system one that dedicates itself to better meeting the needs of
consumers, families and our communities."

        As Medical Director, Dr. Sederer will serve as a member of the
Office of Mental Health Executive Team and will work with administrative
and clinical leaders throughout New York, working most closely with OMH
Medical Directors for Adult, Child, and Forensic Psychiatry.  Lewis
Opler, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for OMH, will continue to serve as
OMH Medical Director for Adult Services.

---------------

April 17, 2007

Dear friends and colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce that effective April 19, 2007 I will be
assuming the position of statewide Medical Director for the New York
State Office of Mental Health (OMH). As a consequence, I will be leaving
DOHMH a bit earlier than previously planned.

In my role at OMH, I will report directly to Commissioner Michael Hogan.
My responsibilities will include medical leadership for New York's $3B
mental health system, including accredited hospitals and community
services in every county of NYS; the OMH research institutes
(Psychiatric Institute and Nathan Kline); as well as programmatic
initiatives that will develop. My primary office will be at 330 5th
Avenue in NYC (in the NYC OMH Field Office) and I will be in Albany
regularly....

I feel very privileged to take on this new position. I very much look
forward to working closely with so many of you to improve the lives of
people with psychiatric disabilities throughout the state of New York.

Sincerely, 

Lloyd I. Sederer, MD

--------------

February 8, 2007

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Effective April 27, 2007, I will be stepping down from my position at
the Division of Mental Hygiene (DMH) at the Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene of New York City.  For over 4-1/2 years, I have had the
privilege of serving New York City as its first Executive Deputy
Commissioner for Mental Hygiene Services under the leadership of Dr.
Thomas R. Frieden, New York City's Commissioner of Health and Mental
Hygiene.  These have been extraordinary and challenging years in which
my mission has been to re-establish the credibility of the DMH as a
leadership agency that is meeting its mandate to ensure the delivery of
quality mental hygiene services to the people of New York City.

I believe we have served that mission well.  We have established and
maintained exceptional working relationships with other City agencies.
We have established effective working relationships with the advocacy
and provider communities in New York City.  We have put in place a
strong and devoted managerial and senior staff.  We have managed our
budget with prudence, enabling us to meet City cuts with negligible
service reductions. I am proud to have been part of DMH during this
critical period and have the greatest admiration for my colleagues here
and the results they have achieved for the City.  

While this kind of job is never finished and clearly work remains to be
done, it is time for me to move on.  The experience of the past several
months, when I was a candidate for the state mental health commissioner
position, has clarified my desire to seek other opportunities to make a
difference. 

DMH has transformed itself from what was principally a contracting
organization to a public mental hygiene organization that takes its
direction from understanding population based needs and opportunities,
and then fashioning public mental hygiene interventions to serve the
needs of New Yorkers. 

Together, we have created many innovative programs including:
depression detection and management in primary care; a city wide
transformation in Early Intervention Services to a family approach to
care (called Families as Partners); establishing continuous quality
improvement as a standard operation in a significant portion of the
mental hygiene agencies in the City (called Quality IMPACT); creating
opportunities to improve the lives of people dependent on alcohol and
drugs and their families by advancing the use of buprenorphine and a
brief, evidence based intervention for early, high risk alcohol and drug
users (called SBIRT); establishing an agreement and beginning its
implementation, with many City and State colleagues, of New York New
York III, which will become 9000 units of supportive housing for people
with mental hygiene disabilities, HIV/AIDS and youth at risk for
homelessness; obtaining a substantial 3 year state-funded grant to
provide intensive case management for substance abusers who are very
high users of Medicaid services, as well as creating a new program for
people with mental health conditions who also are high users of
Medicaid; working closely with the Department of Homeless Services to
totally restructure street outreach so that it will succeed in getting
people off the streets and into safe and reliable housing; as well as
many other initiatives and interagency efforts.

I feel deeply honored to have been able to serve in the role I have, and
to have worked with so many dedicated and mission-driven people. I have
learned that government can work, and I am heartened to see how much
good it can do.  

Thank you for this amazing opportunity to work with you in serving the
residents of this great City.

Sincerely,

Lloyd I. Sederer, MD

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://kilakwa.net/pipermail/nyaprs_kilakwa.net/attachments/20070418/51c8f2d6/attachment.html>