as This series was reported in January, the entire state of Michigan is facing health care worker staffing challenges.of michigan health council‘s Michigan Health Workforce Index Nearly all health care workers in Michigan are experiencing a workforce shortage, and the workforce shortage is expected to continue through 2032, the report found. The report also notes that behavioral health workers face a significant shortage, especially in rural areas of the state.
serving 10 counties; Northwest Michigan Health Department (HDNM) is leading an innovative program called Seeding Success in Behavioral Health that aims to address the behavioral health needs of HDNM’s rural population. This cross-disciplinary collaboration involves a wide range of stakeholders, both local and international, who propose ideas and take action regarding the recruitment and retention of behavioral health professionals.
While this project addresses the workforce needs of all the various behavioral health practices, agencies, schools, and community-based organizations within HDNM’s service area, HDNM itself is no stranger to scarcity. The company’s behavioral health team has a total of 32 positions, six of which are currently vacant.
We recently spoke with HDNM Deputy Director Holly Campbell and HDNM Project Leader Dr. Penny Foster Fishman. Northwest Michigan Community Health Innovation Regional Behavioral Health Initiativeabout how they are working together to solve the region’s labor shortage.
Q: What types of behavioral health services does HDNM provide?
Campbell: Here at the Northwest Michigan Health Department, our mental health providers are school-based. We are in 12 different districts. We have a complete clinical model with nurses, mental health professionals, and public health technicians within our schools. And some schools only have mental health professionals available to visit children. Their case numbers are exploding. Because our area is so small, it is often difficult to provide necessary services to all children who need them. Our region is struggling to hire enough people to meet our needs.
Foster-Fishman: Many mental health conditions first appear in youth and young adults. 50% All symptoms begin by age 14.and the young people 6 times more likely to complete mental health treatment within the school environment rather than the community.
Q: What types of behavioral health positions are the most difficult for HDNMs to hire for?
Campbell: In most school-based care, providers are taking their own measures. [Master of Social Work degree]. They are in hot demand right now. Everyone is competing for the same social workers, not just in the areas served by health departments, but throughout rural Michigan. I suspect that the social worker position is the most versatile degree and therefore the most difficult to fill.
Q: Why is it important to fill these positions?
Campbell: Having a clinician in the school, whether it’s a social worker or a nurse, provides those needed services. Many of our families living in rural northern Michigan face several barriers, including transportation and insurance. We do not discriminate based on insurance type or whether a family member is underinsured or uninsured. Schools can provide these services so parents don’t have to leave work to pick up their children or take them to therapy. Students don’t miss as many classes and can form a special relationship with the school’s therapist. Think back to the people who had a big influence on you when you were in elementary school or middle school. That’s what we see our children go through. They can work out some of their own things. This may result in poor relationships with friends or problems at home. You only need to watch it a few times and it’s good. Or they see a therapist every year so they can build that rapport and have that mentor, and we know that helps kids get back on their feet.
Q: How is Seeding Success in Behavioral Health through Cross-Sector Action Programs addressing the behavioral health workforce shortage in Northern Michigan?
Foster-Fishman: We currently have 13 cross-disciplinary action teams. Three focus primarily on retention and recruitment issues. One focuses solely on hiring interns. Because we need to expand our pipeline and interns are proving to be one of the most effective ways to do that. Interns have a very good chance of landing their first job at their internship site. Our internship website currently has 21 organizations in northwest Michigan listed. You can search by population, degree type, and opportunity type. This was very effective in disseminating information to field placement officers at major programs and universities across the state. Many of our local websites are not designed to attract talent, as Fortune 500 companies say they need to make their websites attractive to younger generations. So, we will learn how to do this over lunch.
We also have an action team focused on recruiting specialist providers. They conducted a series of conversations with human resources leaders, key leaders, and supervisors at organizations providing behavioral health services to identify some of their biggest recruitment challenges. They identified four challenges for him that we can influence. We are in the process of offering a series of lunch and learns to build local capacity to address these issues.
We also collected data from 182 behavioral health providers to examine their current burnout status, intentions to leave their current job, and work life experiences. We built a series of interventions, tools, and lunch-and-learns based on our findings. What we are trying to do is build organizational capabilities that support healthy work-life conditions in the simplest possible way.
Estelle Slootmaker is a writer whose work focuses on journalism, book editing, communications, poetry, and children’s books. Estelle.Slootmaker@gmail.com or www.constellations.biz.
Photo by Penny Foster Fishman and Holly Campbell.
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