New Partnership with University of California, San Francisco, Will Help Grow and Diversify State’s Mental Health Workforce
21 October 2020 - 2:57AM
Business Wire
- Four-year, $4 million UnitedHealth Group grant will help
University of California, San Francisco, grow and diversify the
pipeline of child and adolescent psychiatrists and psychiatric
nurse practitioners
- Partnership to address a projected critical shortage of
mental health providers in California
- A similar grant partnership at UC San Diego, also being
announced today, will address needs in Southern California
A four-year, $4 million grant partnership between the University
of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and UnitedHealth Group will
expand the mental health workforce in California. Co-led by UCSF’s
School of Medicine and School of Nursing, the partnership will grow
the pipeline of diverse child and adolescent psychiatry clinicians
by creating new clinical learning opportunities and mentoring
supports for child and adolescent psychiatry fellows and
psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners, as well as providing
scholarships and financial supports to underrepresented medical and
nursing students pursuing child and adolescent mental health
careers.
In addition to the partnership with UCSF, UnitedHealth Group and
the University of California, San Diego, are also launching a new
four-year, $4 million initiative to diversify the pipeline of child
and adolescent psychiatrists and encourage medical students to
pursue careers in this field through the creation of new psychiatry
curricula and clinical learning opportunities, expanded student
mentoring, and new financial support for diverse students and
residents.
“We have a serious shortage in our state’s mental health
workforce,” said California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis. “This grant
will be a critical step in helping to develop and grow a diverse
health care workforce that is well-prepared to address the distinct
mental health needs of children and youth in California. As a UC
regent, I am proud that this effort will leverage the incredible
expertise of the University of California to better serve our
communities.”
California has a mental health worker shortage that is projected
to grow worse unless meaningful action is taken to address it,
according to the California Future Health Workforce Commission.
There are only 13 child and adolescent psychiatrists per 100,000
children in California, compared to 75 pediatricians per 100,000
children. By 2028, California will have only about half of the
psychiatrists it will need to serve residents in need of treatment,
and 28% fewer psychologists, social workers and counselors than
necessary to meet the projected demand, according to the UCSF’s
Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. In some
communities and regions the shortages will be even worse.
“One of our nation’s most pressing health care needs is the
mental health and well-being of children and adolescents,” said
Steve Cain, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of California, part of
UnitedHealth Group. “Together with the University of California,
San Francisco, UnitedHealth Group is honored to help expand and
diversify the health care workforce.”
It is estimated that up to 1 in 5 children living in the United
States experiences a mental disorder in a given year, according to
the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine report. The
teen suicide rate has increased 34% in California in the past four
years for adolescents ages 15-19, according to America’s Health
Rankings 2020 Health of Women and Children Data Update.
The new programs enabled by the grant partnership with the UCSF
School of Nursing and School of Medicine are already up and
running. Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners have been
selected as scholarship recipients and are receiving training as
they work with youth; medical students specializing in psychiatry
who have been recruited for fellowships are completing rotations;
and UCSF faculty members have been hired and recruited to mentor
residents and fellows.
“As part of UCSF’s commitment to serving the public, we are
grateful for UnitedHealth Group’s support in preparing our medical
and nursing students to deliver world-class mental health care to
communities across California, the country and around the world,”
said Dan Lowenstein, executive vice chancellor and provost,
University of California, San Francisco.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care
company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and
helping make the health system work better for everyone.
UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services
through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides
health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which
provides information and technology-enabled health services. For
more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at
www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on
Twitter.
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UnitedHealth Group Jenifer McCormick jenifer_mccormick@uhg.com,
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