St. Vincent's Announces New Crisis Team Leaders

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St. Vincent’s Hospital Westchester, a division of Saint Joseph’s Medical Center, announces the appointment of Abby Wasserman M.D., and Sally Eaton, LCSW-R as leaders of its new Crisis Response and Prevention Team, set to begin in early December. Saint Joseph’s recently was selected to receive a Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health grant to develop the team following a competitive proposal process.

“We are assembling a very talented and experienced group of professionals for our new crisis prevention and response team,” said Saint Joseph’s President and CEO Michael J. Spicer. “We look forward to the launch of this exciting new program.”

Dr. Wasserman has served as clinical director of community liaison at St. Vincent’s since 2006. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She did her pediatric training at University of Washington in Seattle, her general psychiatry training at Johns Hopkins and her child psychiatry training at Harvard. She is board-certified in pediatrics, general psychiatry and child/adolescent psychiatry.

Since 2008, Ms. Eaton has served as program coordinator of the WestCARES program at St. Vincent’s, which provides clinical case management services for seriously mentally ill clients, integrating psychiatric treatment, housing, social and vocational services. She has had a broad range of experience in a variety of mental health settings, including Silver Hill Hospital and the Larchmont Mamaroneck Community Counseling Center. She has a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University and an additional master’s degree in education from the College of New Rochelle.

The Crisis Prevention and Response Team will launch in December, with mental health professionals who will be available around the clock. During the daytime on weekdays, a mobile team can be dispatched anywhere in Westchester. During other hours, county residents will be able to talk by phone with team members who can help. Alternately, the resident can be brought to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers, St. Vincent's Hospital in Harrison, or to the closest emergency room for an evaluation.