BWH Among Charter Members for National Network of Depression Centers

John Greden, executive director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center, and BW/F Department of Psychiatry Chairman David Silbersweig.

BWH joined forces with other elite university and academic medical centers from across the country to establish the charter for the National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC), a non-profit organization, signaling the formal commencement of the network.

David A. Silbersweig, MD, chair of the BW/F Department of Psychiatry, was one of 16 leaders from university and academic medical centers who met in October at the University of Michigan to sign the charter for the NNDC.

The mission of the NNDC is to improve the quality, effectiveness and availability of depression and bipolar illness diagnosis, treatment and prevention so people can live better lives.

“BWH will play a leading role in the NNDC by building upon its traditional strengths and current initiatives in the hospital setting,” said Silbersweig. “Our psychiatry department will be focusing upon depression in patients who suffer with medical, neurological, obstetrical/gynecological, and oncological disorders.”

The new network hopes that partnerships foster breakthroughs, information sharing and rapid dissemination of new treatments into clinical settings, similar to the progress accelerated when cardiovascular and cancer centers joined with their respective peer centers to establish national networks.

Other charter members of the NNDC include Columbia University, Duke University, Emory University, Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University, and Partners’ own MGH and McLean Hospital, to name just a few.

“This is a symbolic day for those suffering from depression and bipolar disorder,” said John Greden, executive director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center, which was founded in 2001. “With 16 centers working together, the sky is the limit. The ultimate goal is to have such a center within 250 miles of every citizen in America. We can conquer these disorders.”

In 2009, the NNDC plans to make progress along several parallel paths, which include helping to establish comprehensive depression centers, encourage and support collaborative research, review and establish clinical guidelines and assist integration of depression and bipolar illness care in Primary Care.