SHARE

New President & Medical Director Taking The Reins At Silver Hill Hospital

NEW CANAAN, Conn. — Dr. John Santopietro will take over the job as new president and medical director at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, effective in early September.

Dr. John Santopietro

Dr. John Santopietro

Photo Credit: Contributed

“On behalf of the entire board, I am delighted to make this announcement,” said Peter Orthwein, chairman of the Silver Hill Hospital Board of Directors. “John has a broad knowledge of the mental healthcare industry on a national level. He is an innovative leader with a track record of growth and program development, as well as an opinion leader and national spokesperson for mental health." 

Santopietro joins Silver Hill Hospital from Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte, N.C., where he held the positions of chief clinical officer of behavioral health and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry. 

"John will assume leadership of Silver Hill at a time when the hospital is in a strong financial position and has a renovated campus designed to accommodate a diverse array of quality treatment programs. We know that John will preserve and advance the great work of Silver Hill Hospital,” added Orthwein.

Silver Hill Hospital is a nonprofit psychiatric hospital in New Canaan that treats people with mental illnesses and addictions. 

Santopietro graduated from Yale University, Northwestern University Medical School, and completed his internship, residency, and fellowship at Harvard Medical School. 

He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He serves on multiple national boards, including the American Association of Community Psychiatrists, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the American Hospital Association’s Governing Council of the Section for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services. 

He was president of the Connecticut Psychiatric Society in 2012 where he earned an award for his leadership during the Sandy Hook tragedy. 

Santopietro is the successor to the hospital’s current president and medical director, Dr. Sigurd Ackerman, who has served in this capacity for 14 years. During his tenure, Ackerman strengthened treatment programs, initiated and expanded the hospital’s current Transitional Living Programs, led the renovation of facilities on the hospital’s 43-acre campus and secured financial stability.

“John brings to this position a combination of outstanding abilities as a clinical psychiatrist and an unusual depth of experience, and success, as a leader of psychiatric programs," Ackerman said of Santopietro. "I have great confidence that as he brings these strengths to Silver Hill Hospital we will continue to flourish”.

to follow Daily Voice Bridgeport and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE