On April 12th, the University of Florida’s Department of Psychiatry held the 9th Annual Richard C. Christensen Memorial Lecture, featuring Katherine Koh, MD, MSc, as the keynote speaker, along with a special presentation by the UF Street Psychiatry Program’s team, led by Dawn Bruijnzeel, MD.
Following the success of last year’s simultaneous events in both Gainesville and Jacksonville, we maintained this dual-location format again this year. The morning at both locations began with a manna bag assembly line, followed by lunch and the Richard C. Christensen, MD Memorial Lecture. Our distinguished lecturer, Dr. Katherine Koh, is a practicing psychiatrist at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and Massachusetts General Hospital. After Dr. Koh’s presentation, the UF Street Psychiatry Team showcased their program to Dr. Koh, sparking productive discussions on ways to enhance the program, increase engagement, and build trust among the unhoused population in Gainesville.
The UF Health Jacksonville group successfully assembled over 100 manna bags for the Sulzbacher Street Outreach Program, while the Gainesville UF psychiatry department prepared close to 75 bags for GRACE Marketplace and the UF Street Psychiatry Team.
This event continues to be a meaningful way to honor Dr. Christensen and continue his legacy of compassion and care for the unhoused population. We look forward to more years of impactful events and collaborations. If you wish to contribute to this event and the manna bags for future events, please visit us at the Richard C. Christensen, M.D. Visiting Lecture page for more information.
View pictures from the events in Gainesville and Jacksonville in the gallery below.
