LifeWays Community Mental Health Workforce Strategies
Healthcare Industry
Community Mental Health
Organizations Involved
LifeWays CMHA
Occupations Involved
Occupations Requiring an MSW; Psychiatrists; Counselors; Psychologists; Other: Peer Support Specialists; Social Work students; Psychology students
Workforce Development Focus
Increasing number of healthcare workers AND improving the quality of healthcare workforce AND healthcare workforce retention
Workforce Issues Addressed
Attracting individuals to work in a healthcare profession; Training individuals to work in a healthcare profession; Providing educational opportunities for healthcare professionals to become more specialized in their occupation; Training current healthcare professionals so that they will be able to serve a broader population; Increasing wages and/or expanding benefits for current healthcare professionals;
Description
LifeWays CMHA has increased its recruitment efforts by attending job fairs, paying for job postings, hosting interns, and offering guest lectures to students, informing them about career opportunities. Lifeways also offers workforce retention incentives like a competitive wage scale, establishing a career ladder with wage increases at each step, and offering PD and training to address educational gaps with brief solution-focused interventions.