East Cascades Works, Mosaic Medical and 14 behavioral health agencies, who together form the Central Oregon Behavioral Health Consortium, have received news of funding from the Healthy Oregon Workforce Training Opportunity Grant Program (HOWTO). HOWTO is administered under the direction of the Oregon Health Policy Board in partnership with the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Health & Science University.
This three-year, $1 million grant will afford the consortium the opportunity to address the paucity of region-wide streamlined and coordinated training in behavioral health. Together the agencies have already begun to develop the framework for hosting behavioral health and prospective behavioral health interns and residents beginning in fall 2021.
Interns and residents will benefit from an evidence-based clinical rotation model designed to provide them with an array of experiences not available from an independent site. In addition, the consortium is currently developing the framework for ensuring consistency in pay across all interns and residents within the consortium; a practice that is not standard, as oftentimes interns are unpaid or required to pay for their placement.
“What started as a sketch on a white board has come to life in the form of a consortium that is committed to recruiting, training and retaining behavioral health resources in Central Oregon. As the Chair of the healthcare workforce development group, it has been an honor to conceptualize, plan and lead this work in partnership with East Cascades Works and the many participating agencies. HOWTO funds are critical to our success as we move to fully implement the Consortium in 2021,” said Kim Swanson, Ph.D., director of Behavioral Health for Mosaic Medical.
In addition, the consortium will focus on expanding and developing workforce opportunities throughout Central Oregon, including a full spectrum of behavioral health providers: Psychiatric nurse practitioners, drug and alcohol interns working toward their counseling certification and professional counseling and social work psychologist graduate-level interns, for example. As the consortium expands, they plan to include psychiatry interns and residents, and will identify ladder opportunities to elevate and retain talent in Central Oregon.
“Rimrock Trails is honored to be working alongside our valued community partners as we address the critical need to strengthen the behavioral health workforce in our region. The development of the Central Oregon Behavioral Health Consortium is a collaborative effort to create a diverse professional workforce of appropriate size, composition and competency that is prepared to address the mental health and substance use needs in our community and to improve the behavioral health of individuals and families in Central Oregon,” said Erica Fuller, MA, LPC, CADC-III, executive director of Rimrock Trails Treatment Services.
Central Oregon’s community is strained for behavioral health workers, contributing to Oregon’s already dire mental health crisis. Oregon is currently ranked 49th in the nation for access to mental health care. The consortium’s approach readily addresses both health care disparities and social determinants of health by increasing timely and equitable access to, and retention of, behavioral health residents and interns through a centralized and coordinated model.
“This grant provides an amazing opportunity to increase behavioral health access in Central Oregon and improve community health outcomes over time. PacificSource is proud to partner with the Central Oregon Health Council, East Cascades Works, Mosaic Medical and the many participating clinics to support this vital work,” said Mike Franz, MD, PacificSource Behavioral Health Medical director.
While each agency partner in the consortium will continue to operate independently, each will benefit from a common set of standards and principles that govern the consortium, its interns and residents; and will adhere to rigorous evaluation and continuous improvement. Integrated within the mission of the consortium is the commitment to ensuring that behavioral health providers throughout Central Oregon are prepared to provide culturally competent care for diverse children, adolescents and adults throughout the entire region.
“As an agency that is committed to training, development and retention of culturally competent and culturally diverse behavioral health providers throughout Central Oregon, Mosaic Medical is looking forward to participating in the Central Oregon Behavioral Health Consortium. This is the start of an exciting innovation to bring multiple agencies together to cultivate and retain behavioral health talent in our region,” said Richard Bennett, CCIO of Mosaic Medical.
To oversee the program across the participating agencies, the consortium will hire a training director, who will be responsible for standing up partnership agreements, promoting, sustaining and advancing the consortium. East Cascades Works, the fiscal agent for this grant, will act as the employer of record in hiring the training director, as well as a consortium coordinator responsible for overseeing the administrative duties.
“We are very proud to have East Cascades Works shoulder the role of employer of record and fiscal agent for this award. We can rely on our strengths as a best practice organization in the area of funds management and further enable the consortium to focus on building the structure and framework that will ultimately save lives,” said Jessica Fitzpatrick, director of Compliance & Operations, EC Works.
Throughout the duration of the grant, the consortium will continue to work with academic partner institutions such as: Central Oregon Community College, OSU-Cascades and Portland State University – School of Social Work, which provide critical advisory support and pipeline opportunities. The consortium will continue to rely on the expertise of partners like Central Oregon Health Council for data driven decision making and research.
“The Central Oregon Health Council is happy to be participating in this landmark event; bringing Behavioral Health talent to the region, to meet a critical need for our residents, is both an honor and a privilege,” said Donna Mills, executive director of Central Oregon Health Council.
In short, a vision that began on a whiteboard has come to life in the form of a concrete set of goals and objectives, articulated among 14 agencies in Central Oregon, all who aspire to increase rural access to diverse training opportunities and increase the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate behavioral health care for our residents. While lofty, the group is reassured by this $1 million grant, which will allow for the group to focus on program design and explore mechanisms for future sustainability through insurance provider billing.
