DePelchin Children’s Center
winter 2014
Leading the Charge: DePelchin’s New Medical Director Advances Vision for Children’s Mental Health Dr. Oscar Bukstein has an arch enemy: inertia. Even after more than 25 years as an academic, researcher and psychiatrist, he refuses to rest from his pursuit of knowledge, discovery and clinical advancement. Now, as the first medical director for DePelchin Children’s Center, Bukstein hopes to channel his energy and focus toward advancing DePelchin’s impact in the field of children’s mental health. and Clinic and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Matters of the Mind Even from Bukstein’s days as an undergraduate student, he seemed drawn to matters of the mind. He majored in philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and after graduation in 1976, he considered becoming a philosophy professor. Ultimately, though, he moved from his home state to Texas to pursue medical school. During his third year at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, he was introduced to the field of psychiatry, and since then, his interest in the study of the mind has never ceased.
Jenifer Jarriel, president and CEO of DePelchin, says Bukstein’s appointment as medical director is a key step toward expanding DePelchin’s role in the field of mental health. “The appointment of Dr. Bukstein as medical director strengthens our commitment to being a leading center for children’s mental health care,” she says. “His clinical background and operations expertise will provide the vision and leadership not only for our clinical services but also for our teaching and research initiatives. We are thrilled he has joined our organization.”
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ukstein comes to DePelchin with nearly three decades of clinical and research experience treating children’s mental health issues. Most recently, he served as professor of psychiatry and chief of the division of child and adolescent psychiatry at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. He maintains an impressive academic record, having authored or co-authored more than 120 papers, chapters and books on mental health topics and having taught at all academic levels, including more than two decades at the Western Psychiatric Institute
In 1983, after finishing medical school and earning a master’s in public health from the University of Texas School of Public Health, Bukstein moved with his wife and two children to Pennsylvania, where he completed his post-graduate internship and combined residency and fellowship in general and child/ adolescent psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh’s Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. Though he began as a trainee, Bukstein would ultimately rise through the ranks at the university, culminating in his becoming a professor and his repeated appointment as medical director for numerous clinical and research programs.
“It is an honor to serve as DePelchin’s first medical director.
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Bukstein likewise expresses enthusiasm about his joining DePelchin.
An Itch to Know More During his more than two decades at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Bukstein both conducted and contributed to research studies on a host of children’s mental health issues, from ADHD to substance use disorder to a range of disruptive behavior
“It is an honor to serve as DePelchin’s first medical director,” he says. “There is a tremendous need in our community for children’s mental health services, and I look forward to advancing DePelchin’s ability to meet that need now and in the future.”
inside 2 From the President 3 DePelchin Shines Bright at
Friday Night Lights
4 A New Welcome Center at DePelchin 4 Where Holiday Wishes Come True
continued on page 2
5 Our Sincere Appreciation 6 Making a Difference Every Step of the Way 7 What’s Happening at DePelchin 8 2014 Annual Luncheon:
Celebrating Houston Heroes