Sheppard Pratt history

The history of Sheppard Pratt begins with getting to know our founder, Moses Sheppard (1775 – 1857), a Baltimore merchant, Quaker, and member of the Religious Society of Friends.

Finally, after 34 years of construction, on December 6, 1891, The Sheppard Asylum opened its doors, in Towson, MD, on a 340-acre campus where it still stands today.

Upon his death in 1896, he left a two million dollar endowment for The Sheppard Asylum.

With quality nursing care hard to find, in 1905, a specialized psychiatric nursing school was created at the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital.

Doctor Chapman brought individual psychotherapy to the hospital’s treatment program, and by 1920, the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital was recognized as a leader in hospital psychoanalysis.

Doctor Chapman led the hospital successfully, but died in 1948.

In 1949, Doctor Harry Murdock took over as Medical Director.

In 1958, a Child Guidance Clinic began operations, seeing anywhere from two to 10 adolescents at a time.

Doctor Gibson, who took over as Director in 1965, believed that the elderly deserved equal treatment when it came to their mental health.

A Department of Research was established in 1968.

These outreach programs received the American Psychiatric Association’s 1972 Gold Achievement Award for demonstrating how, through innovation, a private hospital could be a catalyst for enhancing community services.

In 1991, Doctor Gibson retired after 28 years of service to Sheppard Pratt.

An Adolescent Day Hospital opened in 1992.

In a strategic effort to create a community-based structure, Sheppard began acquiring affiliates in 1995, starting with Timonium-Dulaney Station.

In 2000, Sheppard Pratt and GBMC entered into a Master Development Agreement.

Sheppard Pratt continued to expand, opening The Center for Eating Disorders in 2001.

The Retreat, a self-pay, 16-bed residential program that helps fund nonprofit offerings for people without insurance, opened in June of 2002.

In 2005, the Weinberg Building opened on the Towson campus, with the exact principles that Moses Sheppard had in mind when he established the Sheppard Asylum – private rooms, windows, compassion, and comfort.

The Neuropsychiatry Program was founded in 2011.

In 2014, Sheppard Pratt opened the Crisis Walk-In Clinic at its Towson campus.

And, in November 2016, Sheppard Pratt partnered with GBMC to bring mental health care directly into primary care practices.

Maryland reports more than 2.7 million fully vaccinated for COVID May 21, 2021