Maine Jobs & Restoration Plan initiative – matched with different Federal funding – will increase coaching and profession alternatives for docs, nurses, social employees, and different well being professionals
Governor Janet Mills introduced in the present day the award of $2.25 million to strengthen Maine’s well being care workforce by increasing coaching alternatives for well being care professionals in rural communities and establishing a brand new system to match folks to these alternatives.
“Rural Maine is my house. I care deeply concerning the individuals who dwell there, and I wish to make sure that they’ve entry to high-quality well being care providers,” mentioned Governor Janet Mills. “This funding builds on our efforts to recruit and prepare extra folks to enter the well being care workforce and to strengthen our well being care system within the long-term for the good thing about Maine folks.”
“This funding by Governor Mills will bolster Maine’s well being care workforce and in the end enhance entry to well being care in rural communities,” mentioned Jeanne Lambrew, Commissioner of the Maine Division of Well being and Human Providers. “Supporting the pipeline of well being care professionals and creating a coordinated system to attach Maine folks with rewarding profession alternatives will assist strengthen Maine’s well being system for sufferers statewide.”
The award is funded by $1.6 million from the Governor’s Maine Jobs and Restoration Plan, which will probably be used to recruit and help scientific supervisors, often known as preceptors, in rural well being techniques, and to increase graduate medical education schemes in Maine. The funds, administered by the Maine Division of Well being and Human Providers, will increase coaching alternatives for docs, nurses, social employees, and different well being professionals in rural communities and encourage aspiring well being care employees to launch rewarding careers in Down East, northern, and western Maine, the place well being care suppliers are in demand.
The particular awardees are:
- $950,000 to MaineHealth to increase Graduate Medical Schooling (GME) alternatives for physicians in coaching in hospitals and doctor practices in rural and underserved communities throughout Maine. This initiative is a collaboration amongst Maine Medical Heart-MaineHealth, Central Maine Medical Heart, the Maine-Dartmouth Household Medication Residency, and Japanese Maine Medical Heart-Northern Mild Well being. The collaborative will develop new rural coaching websites, present help for scientific preceptors in rural communities, and a develop a brand new, shared rural GME curriculum.
- $475,000 to the College of Maine System to improve placement of scholars pursuing Masters in Social Work (MSW) levels in rural well being care websites, improve the variety of skilled practitioners who can supervise MSW college students, and encourage present well being care employees to contemplate pursuing an MSW diploma by offering the chance for subject placements in rural communities.
- $175,000 to St. Joseph’s Faculty of Maine to develop and implement new rural scientific preceptorship applications to offer help for college students in its undergraduate and graduate nursing applications.
The Mills Administration can also be awarding an extra $650,000 to fund the Constructing-ME Community challenge, which goals to create a statewide system to streamline scientific placements for trainees and preceptors in rural communities. These placements will embrace a wide range of positions and specialties, starting from entry-level scientific help and laboratory employees to physicians, behavioral well being suppliers, emergency responders, and dental well being suppliers. MaineHealth is partnering with Northern Mild Well being, the Maine Hospital Affiliation, and a number of other different supplier teams throughout the state on the initiative. Funding for this initiative is thru a Federal U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention grant.
“These investments within the GME collaborative and Constructing-ME Community are necessary for the folks of Maine,” mentioned Linda Chaudron, MD, Vice President of Medical Schooling at Maine Medical Heart-MaineHealth. “Due to the help of the Mills Administration, these applications will facilitate partnerships between well being care and academic establishments, and help folks wanting both to enter the well being care workforce, advance well being care careers or prepare as physicians in rural communities throughout the state.”
“Now greater than ever, social employees are important to making sure the well being, well-being and productiveness of Maine folks and our communities,” mentioned College of Maine Chancellor Dannel Malloy. “This funding acknowledges our public college system’s distinctive capacity to organize compassionate and extremely competent social work professionals for service throughout our state, and particularly in rural areas the place there may be rising want, however the place entry to important psychological well being and social providers is restricted. We stay up for leveraging these funds to increase enrollment and alternative for our social work college students to advance their very own follow and make an actual distinction for his or her fellow Mainers throughout these occasions of problem and alter.”
“Well being care has skilled a dramatic change with the pandemic and our rural communities and underserved areas have been the toughest hit,” mentioned Kelly Hudock, Chair of the Division of Nursing at St. Joseph’s Faculty of Maine. “St. Joseph’s Faculty of Maine is devoted to enhancing well being care in Maine and this beneficiant award is step one for our college students, preceptors and communities.”
“Northern Mild Japanese Maine Medical Heart is proud to take part on this grant-funded graduate medical schooling challenge and respect the sources supplied by Division of Well being and Human Providers and the State,” mentioned Jim Jarvis, MD, Northern Mild Well being. “This cash will assist develop a community between the 4 establishments liable for coaching physicians in residency and fellowship applications and rural hospitals, practices and neighborhood and well being facilities. Physicians who prepare in rural settings usually tend to return to follow in them and higher perceive the wants of these communities. As Maine’s inhabitants continues to age, it’s important that we prepare extra well being care professionals the place they’re wanted. This chance will higher put together tomorrow’s physicians to look after these within the State of Maine.”
“At a time when hospitals and suppliers throughout the state are dealing with unprecedented workforce shortages, increasing our coaching applications by way of statewide initiatives that carry multi-disciplinary teams collectively to collaborate is important,” mentioned Sally Weiss, Vice President of Workforce Coverage and Strategic Initiatives for the Maine Hospital Affiliation. “These initiatives supported by the Mills Administration will strengthen and develop Maine’s rural well being care workforce for years to return.”
This award is the most recent funding from the Mills Administration to deal with Maine’s workforce challenges, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jobs Plan devoted greater than $300 million for workforce applications, and has created 22,000 apprenticeship, profession and schooling development, and job coaching alternatives for Maine folks.
The Jobs Plan contains $20 million to immediately strengthen Maine’s very important well being care workforce and enhance well being look after Maine folks:
- Scholarships and pupil mortgage reduction to allow extra folks to turn out to be behavioral well being specialists, long run help employees, emergency medical providers employees, and different well being professionals.
- Healthcare Coaching for ME, a program to increase the supply of free and low-cost profession coaching to assist well being care employees advance their careers, help workforce coaching wants of well being care employers, and appeal to new employees to fast-growing fields.
- The Caring for ME marketing campaign to coach and encourage residents to turn out to be direct care suppliers serving older Mainers and other people with disabilities, in addition to scholarships and pupil mortgage reduction to allow extra folks to turn out to be long-term help employees and different well being professionals.
- Respite for ME, a program which gives grants of as much as $2,000 to Maine households who’re caring for a member of the family at house.
- Growing funding to revive scholarships obtainable from the Docs for Maine’s Future Scholarship, which helps college students enrolled within the Tufts College College of Medication Maine Medical Heart Maine Observe Program and the College of New England Faculty of Osteopathic Medication.
The Maine Jobs & Restoration Plan is the Governor’s plan, permitted by the Legislature, to speculate almost $1 billion in Federal American Rescue Plan funds to enhance the lives of Maine folks and households, assist companies, create good-paying jobs, and construct an financial system poised for future prosperity. For extra about Maine Jobs & Restoration Plan, go to maine.gov/jobsplan.
