40 Under 40 - 2025

While Dr. Mitchell Crawford was in medical school, his sister died of an overdose. The tragedy led him to specialize in addiction medicine. 

At York, Pennsylvania-based WellSpan Health, Crawford oversees the addiction services department and works with patients to develop treatment plans, keeping a special focus on social determinants that might affect them. 

"I'd like to think I'm decently trained and I could come up with a decent treatment plan that would be by the book," Crawford said. "But if I don't understand why they're connecting with us and what they're actually asking for help with, the chances are pretty high they're going to take that treatment plan and put it in the trash can on their way out and never come back."

Crawford is also the medical director and co-founder of WellSpan's Specialized Treatment and Recovery Team program, which seeks to streamline the process of connecting patients to mental health services and substance abuse screenings. Additionally, he is CEO and co-founder of Sunflower Health, which aims to use evidence-based, peer-reviewed algorithms to advise healthcare providers about best practices for treating individuals.

He said the challenge and relative novelty of psychiatry attracted him to the field.

"I've always been intrigued by the human mind, because there's so much we don't understand. It's an area where I could spend my entire life and maybe make a very small dent, if I'm very lucky, and there's still lots of questions to be answered."

— Hayley DeSilva