Mary Ellen McgurtyBoard of Health Member --
Mary Ellen McGurty, M.S.W., L.C.S.W
Date Appointed:  March 15, 1993
Term Expires: December 31, 2023
Peekskill Representative

Ms. McGurty joined the Board of Health in 1993 as a Peekskill representative and has continually represented the city since then.
Her professional career spanned 35 years at St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Centers of New York, where she worked as a social work clinician, supervisor, educator and hospital administrator.

As a social work clinician, supervisor, and educator, she helped develop multi-faceted hospital based programs. Her responsibilities included the coordination of interdisciplinary discharge planning programs and high risk screening criteria; as well as development of services in response to the initial and ongoing challenges of the AIDS crisis, when St. Vincent's was at the forefront. She also served as liaison to the Emergency Room Advisory and Discharge Planning committees; Chair/Coordinator St. Vincent's and Manhattan Inter-Hospital Child Protection Teams; and as an instructor at Fordham University's School of Social Work, Lincoln Center campus.  

Subsequently, and resulting from her experience in emergency room crisis intervention, she became the evening and weekend hospital administrator. In this capacity, she oversaw all hospital operations; interpreted and implemented hospital policies, and addressed all emergent and operational issues to insure quality health care service delivery.

Balancing career with a commitment to community service, Ms. McGurty also is current chair and a longtime member of the City of Peekskill Zoning Board of Appeals. She has served as a trustee of Mount Saint Mary College; as chairwoman of the City of Peekskill Human Relations Commission, and as a member of the Peekskill Board of Education, the Paramount Center for the Arts Development Committee, and the Garden Club of Peekskill.


A Certified Social Worker, Ms. McGurty received her B.A. degree from Manhattanville College, and earned a Masters in Social Work from Fordham University, Lincoln Center Campus, subsequently becoming a New York State Licensed Clinical Social Worker.