Sanford I. Finkel

Sanford I. Finkel, MD, United States
Past-President 1991-1993 and 1994-1995

Dr. Sanford Finkel is the Medical Director of the Geriatric Institute and Director of the Leonard Schanfield Research Institute at Council for Jewish Elderly in Chicago, Illinois, as well as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago Medical School. A 1967 graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School, Dr. Finkel completed his internship at Wayne County General Hospital and his psychiatry residency at Michael Reese Hospital’s Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Institute.

At present, he is Principal Investigator for the Council for Jewish Elderly’s Partners in Care and E-Care projects. Partners in Care is a multi-site study investigating potential for improvement in elderly geriatric care management through the incorporation of social workers into primary care medical practices, and E-Care tests how technology can be utilized to provide support and increase the quality of life for caregivers and people with dementia. While his clinical practice concentrates primarily on geriatric psychiatry, he is also known as a geriatric forensic psychiatrist and expert witness who has consulted on a wide range of cases nationwide.

Dr. Finkel is a frequent lecturer and is a prolific contributor of journal articles, book chapters, and abstracts. Furthermore, he currently serves as the Psychiatric Consultant Editor for Geriatrics. An active member of numerous organizations, such as the American Psychiatric Association and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, which he founded in 1978, Dr. Finkel co-founded the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) in 1982. From 1982 to 1997, he served on the IPA Board of Directors, and he was the organization’s President from 1991 to 1993 and from 1994 to 1995. He is presently the Chairperson of the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging.