Harvard Medical School Honors CHA Psychiatrist with Diversity Award

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –Marshall Forstein, MD, interim chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) and an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS), was named a recipient of the 2016 Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award presented by HMS. The award honors HMS faculty members who have made significant achievements in cultivating a diverse and inclusive environment.

Joan Reede, MD, MD, MPH, MS, MBA, dean for diversity and community partnership at HMS, recognized Dr. Forstein’s “extraordinary contributions to advance diversity inclusion in medical education, research, and care of some of the most vulnerable members of our society.” She added, “He has championed cultural competency and ensured that residents in his program learn the skills necessary to provide care to underserved patients who may present with mental illness, addiction, homelessness, cultural or linguistic barriers to care, or trauma based on sexual orientation and gender.”

Dr. Forstein came to Cambridge Hospital in 1984 and has played a key role in the growth of mental health services at CHA. He was named the director of the Adult Psychiatry Residency Training Program in 2003 and oversees academic programs in psychiatry including training and research. Recently he was named the interim chair of the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Forstein also teaches medical students and is a core faculty member in the Division of Palliative Care at HMS. He is a member of the LGBT Advisory Committee of Harvard Medical School.

Beyond his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Forstein has led local and national efforts that advanced care and education related to the AIDS epidemic and its effect on multiple minority groups. He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and chaired the Steering Committee on HIV Psychiatry for the APA for over 20 years; he now serves on the APA Council of Education and Life Long Learning and is President of the Caucus of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender members of the APA. He was elected to the Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association from 2014-2016 and served a six year term on the Residency Review Committee for Psychiatry of The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education until 2014.

Cambridge Health Alliance is an academic community health system committed to providing high quality care in Cambridge, Somerville and Boston’s metro-north communities. CHA has expertise in primary care, specialty care and mental health/substance use services, as well as caring for diverse and complex populations. It includes three hospital campuses, a network of primary care and specialty practices and the Cambridge Public Health Dept. CHA patients have seamless access to advanced care through the system’s affiliation with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. CHA is a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate and is also affiliated with Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine. For more information, visit www.challiance.org.