UT HCPC Celebrates 20th Anniversary this Month

The University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center will celebrate “A Brighter Future for Behavioral Health” in October as the hospital observes its 20th anniversary of service to the community.

The celebration begins Tuesday, Oct. 17, with an invitational breakfast to honor those whose foresight created the UT HCPC. Retired State Senator Jon Lindsay, former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby and former chair of the UT Medical School at Houston Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Louis Faillace, M.D., will be honored.

Speakers will include King Davis, Ph.D., executive director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health; Jim McIngvale, CEO of Gallery Furniture; and George J. Parnham, J.D., defense attorney for Andrea Yates.

A Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative will be announced at this event. “This initiative will allow us to further our commitment to developing and carrying out early intervention behavioral health programs,” said Lois J. Moore, chief administrator of the UT HCPC.

Since 1986, the center has served more than 80,000 patients, expanded to provide care for those in the juvenile justice system and children’s protective services, and opened a service to provide outpatient care for the community-at-large.

“We have had an amazing year, seeing more than 5,000 patients, opening a new residential treatment center, and maintaining our commitment to provide the highest quality of mental health care to Houstonarea residents,” said Robert Guynn, M.D., executive director of HCPC and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

For Employees

At an Oct. 18 breakfast Houston Mayor Bill White and UT Health Science Center at Houston President James T. Willerson, M.D., will recognize 55 current UT HCPC employees who were with the hospital when it opened. All employees will be honored at a staff celebration later that day.

For Health-Care Professionals

All health-care professionals are invited to attend Research and Education Day, Friday, Oct. 20, 8 a.m.- 2 p.m. A research seminar on “Current Challenges and Controversies in Children’s and Adolescents’ Mental Health” will feature Ellen Liebenluft, M.D., chief, Affective Disorders in Pediatrics and Developmental Neuropsychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health. She also is clinical associate professor, Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center.

Registration for this event is $ 125 if registered before Oct. 13 and $150 if registered after Oct. 13 or at the door. Five contact hours of continuing education credit will be offered for physicians, nurses and social workers. For more information, call 713-741-3930.

For General Public

The general public is invited to attend Community Education Day, Saturday, Oct. 21, beginning with an 8 a.m. breakfast. Garnet Coleman, Texas State Representative, and UT HCPC faculty, will speak on a seminar about children’s mental health care issues. The event is free to the public.

For more information about any of these events, call 713-741-7876.