A Leader for Community Psychiatry in Central Kentucky:
Nat H. Sandler, M.D.

A resident of Lexington, Kentucky for 30 years, Nat H. Sandler, M.D. was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1937. After his undergraduate education at the University of Memphis, Nat graduated from the University of Tennessee Medical School. From there he completed a fellowship in community mental health and obtained a Masters of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

His interest in psychiatry began in middle school, when he saw the movie "The Snake Pit." He said it depicted a terrible situation, but the movie highlighted a compassionate and dedicated psychiatrist. As a result, his interest has always been in public sector psychiatry.

He and his wife Judith came to Lexington when he was hired as the Director of the Bluegrass East Mental Health Center. This center was the pilot on community mental health around the United States. At the time, the Bluegrass East Mental Health Center was responsible for mental health issues in 17 surrounding counties of Lexington. The focus of the center was ending the wholesale 'warehousing' of mental patients and transitioning them into the community. The goal was that every mental health patient would have the following services available to him or her within a 15-mile radius:

1. Inpatient services,
2. Outpatient services,
3. Emergency services,
4. Consultation and education,
5. Partial hospitalization services.

Among Dr. Sandler's responsibilities were setting up these clinics. After four years, Nat went into full time private practice but remained with the Lexington Center on a part time basis. On August 1st of 2001, he retired from his private practice and returned to the Bluegrass Center full time after being 'gone' for 25 years. Compared to the beginnings of the community mental health center, today's center has increased ten fold. It is now the largest non-profit local mental health center in the United States. It employs 1237.

Looking back on 30 years of active community mental health and private practice, Dr. Sandler says the biggest change occurred with the advent of current medications. In addition, emphasis is no longer on acute hospitalization. Partly this is a result of reimbursement issues with insurance companies. With subsequent restrictions placed upon community mental health issues, Dr. Sandler joined a group of other doctors who started their own HMO, "Health Wise," which was very successful. Recently this HMO was purchased by a national HMO organization.

Nat plans to continue working for at least the next five or six years. He and Judith enjoy attending live theatre productions, regularly attending these arts events in Cincinnati, Louisville and Lexington. They love the orchestra, concerts, traveling Broadway plays and other theatrical functions. Additional satisfaction comes from their back yard Koi pond. Nat also has an interest in his sports cars, one of which is an antique. Judith is very involved in gardening and is an associate of a Lexington landscape architect on a part-time basis. The Sandler family includes a 32-year old bachelor son who lives in St. Louis, where he is a health consultant for Deloitte & Touche.

Through the years, Nat has continued to teach psychiatry residents and students at the University of Kentucky Medical School. He is a clinical professor of psychiatry there and has received Psychiatry Department teaching awards, as well as UK Medical School teaching awards. Nat has long been active in American Psychiatric Association activities, both on the local and national level. He is currently the Kentucky Representative (Area 5) to the APA Assembly and has been the President of the Kentucky Psychiatric Association. In addition, Nat has consulted with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.

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