"They complement each other," said Dr. Andrew Gergely, medical director of the behavioral health unit at CMH. "Gigi has done a lot of work with adolescents and Dr. Santos-Borja has a special interest in geriatric psychiatry."

"This is increasingly important with an aging population," said Gergely. "The need has gotten much more serious in recent years. Her (Santos-Borja) addition is a great boon to the community."

He went on to add, "She (Kuberski) will provide much needed leadership for the unit and the staff. She is very well suited for the position."

CMH offers a broad range of behavioral health services for adults and adolescents. The unit provides inpatient care, day treatment programs and emergency psychiatric services for patients who come to the hospital's emergency department for mental health reasons. At present, CMH is the only hospital in Southern Maryland that treats teens.

Santos-Borja completed her fellowship in consultation liaison psychiatry in 2001 at the University of Maryland. There she obtained special training in evaluating and treating patients who have complex or severe medical problems that may impact their emotional problems.

For the past three years, she has worked at the Wisconsin Resource Center and done consultation liaison work at the Aurora Medical Center. Santos-Borja completed her residency at Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in Baltimore in 2000. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila in 1991.

Kuberski obtained her bachelor's degree in nursing from Catholic University in 1994 and a master's in nursing from the University in Maryland in 1997. She has had extensive training in crisis prevention and intervention and the management of aggressive behavior.

During her 22-year career, Kuberski has worked at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington, Children's National Medical Center and was previously the nurse manager for the child and adolescent research program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During her tenure at NIH, she doubled the size of the child/adolescent research program and added a day treatment program. NIH also awarded her its first Patient Safety Award in 2005.

Kuberski said she came to CMH because of its community based services and the potential for growth in the behavioral health program. She also cited the staff's experience and dedication.

"There is a culture of caring, respect and genuine concern," said Kuberski. "The patient is the priority on this unit. The teamwork is impressive. They are very supportive of one another."