Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 4, 2002|Volume 31, Number 5

Dr. Boris Astrachan, former CMHC director, dies at age 70

Dr. Boris M. Astrachan, a member of the Yale faculty from 1963 to 1990 and a founder and leader in the field of administrative psychiatry, died Sept. 21 in Chicago of pancreatic cancer.

He was 70 years old.

Dr. Astrachan had served as director of the Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC) from 1971 to 1987 and was the assistant director of Yale-New Haven Hospital's Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Service during his entire time at the University. At the time of his death he was the Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where he taught since leaving Yale.

Dr. Astrachan's research focused on depression, schizophrenia, group process, systems theory and administrative psychiatry. He served as a mentor for generations of medical students and residents.

"Boris is regarded both nationally and internationally as a consultant who could transform anachronistic systems of health care into modern, functional, patient and provider-friendly systems," said Dr. Joseph Flaherty, a professor and head of psychiatry at UIC.

Born in New York City on Dec. 1, 1931 to Russian immigrant parents, Boris Astrachan earned a B.A. degree from Alfred University in 1952 and his M.D. degree from the Albany Medical School in 1956. Before coming to Yale, he served in the Navy as a lieutenant commander.

At the Connecticut Mental Health Center, Dr. Astrachan also served from 1966 to 1968 as service chief of the Day Hospital and Outpatient Section and was director of the General Clinical Division from 1968 to 1970. Following his term as the center's director, he headed its Mental Health Policy and Services Research Center.

Dr. Astrachan is credited with revitalizing the psychiatry department at UIC and dramatically increasing its research funding. In his administrative positions, both in Connecticut and Illinois, he sought to link university programs to state and community needs, and worked with the legislature, courts and state agencies to make improvements in child welfare and mental health policy.

Dr. Astrachan's numerous honors, include several from classes of residents in psychiatry as well as the Distinguished Faculty Award from the UIC College of Medicine, the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Albany Medical College.

He is survived by his wife, Batja; sons David, Joseph and Michael; a daughter, Ellen Astrachan Fletcher; a brother, Samuel Astrachan; and 10 grandchildren.

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Dr. Boris Astrachan, former CMHC director, dies at age 70

Campus Notes