Elisabeth J. Kunkel, MD Joins Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute.
April 6, 2017 – Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute Harrisburg PA. is pleased to announce that after a comprehensive search process, Elisabeth J. Kunkel MD. has been named Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute. In addition to this role, Dr. Kunkel is also Professor of Psychiatry, the Joyce D. Kales University Chair in Community Psychiatry, Vice Chair of Community Behavioral Health and Director of Population Behavioral Health, Department of Psychiatry, Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Dr. Kunkel replaces Ehsan Ullah Syed, MD, interim Chief Medical Officer who served in this position for three years while the search progressed. Kunkel will be responsible to the Chief Executive Officer for the clinical management of the hospitals’ inpatient and outpatient services and will have responsibility for assessing, enhancing and developing new programs related to exceptional patient-focused care.
Dr. Kunkel completed her undergraduate and medical training at McGill University, residency at New York University Medical Center, and a psychosomatic medicine fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Cornell University Medical College and the American Cancer Society. In 1989, she joined the faculty at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and served as its Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs from 2002-2017.
“Dr. Kunkel will bring a wealth of clinical expertise and leadership experience and I am delighted that she has joined PPI; remarked Chief Executive Officer William Daly. Dr. Kunkel shares our vision of PPI as a community-academic partnership that will enhance the clinical care of patients in our region, allow the development of new knowledge in our field, and provide an outstanding interdisciplinary training environment for the next generation of providers.
About the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute.
The Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute (PPI), a collaboration of Penn State Health and PinnacleHealth, is Central Pennsylvania’s leader in helping people with mental health and psychiatric disorders achieve and maintain stability in their daily lives. Created in 2008 through a partnership with the two leading entities, PPI has a comprehensive team of specialists who provide sensitive, compassionate care for children, adolescents, adults and mature adults with personalized treatment plans to meet unique patient needs. PPI has a modern 89-bed in-patient facility, and two convenient locations offering outpatient services.