Unanswered Cries: Why California Faces a Shortage of Mental Health Workers

Published by CalMatters 9/08/2022 as part of their series on mental health care. Reprinted with permission. Illustration by Chanelle Nibbelink for CalMatters.

The need for therapists, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists is greater than ever. Under relentless pressure from the pandemic and inflation, wildfires and gun violence, racism and war, Californians are crying out for help. 

But that doesn’t mean they can get it.

Healthforce Center Welcomes Five Summer Interns to UCSF!

Healthforce Center at UCSF is pleased to welcome five interns this summer! Working with interns is just one way in which Healthforce Center advances health equity by building pipelines of diverse health clinicians, researchers, and leaders. Internships such as these provides an opportunity for people from under-represented communities to learn about and contribute to health care as they explore the next steps in their careers.

Celebrating our Achievements: CIN Advanced Racial Health Equity and More

The California Improvement Network (CIN), a project of the California Health Care Foundation that is managed by Healthforce Center at UCSF, is a community of health care professionals that has been striving since 2005 to identify and spread ideas to improve health care delivery in California. CIN’s most recent cycle — the last two and a half years — was especially challenging due to the pandemic. Despite making its activities entirely virtual, CIN sustained and strengthened relationships across health care silos and inspired actions to improve care in California.

Workshop – Confronting Racism Denial: Tools for Naming Racism and Moving to Action

Racism is a major driver of health inequities in the United States. For most of our 30 years, Healthforce Center at UCSF has been working to advance health equity by building pipelines of diverse health leaders, strengthening the cultural competency of clinicians, and centering equity in quality improvement efforts.

Apply Now for Leadership Program for Los Angeles Clinics

Community health centers and clinics are critical providers of health care access for uninsured and underserved populations and are central to advancing health equity. To improve care delivery, health centers require skillful, confident, and resilient leaders who are equipped to achieve systems change in health care.

Seven Lessons on Cultivating Connections and Staff Engagement

By Renae Waneka, Senior Manager, People & Programs at Healthforce Center

With September comes a return to classes at UC San Francisco, and a new cycle of learning begins. Healthforce Center uses a dashboard of metrics to support and evaluate its internal learning and development. This year, I expected our staff engagement scores to be negatively affected by the difficulties of life during a pandemic. But the scores were so high I was astonished. Learning can come with happy surprises!

Dr. Elizabeth Mertz to Lead Research at Healthforce Center at UCSF

Healthforce Center at UCSF is excited to announce that Dr. Elizabeth Mertz has been appointed Associate Director of Research to succeed Dr. Joanne Spetz. In this role, Mertz will be responsible for developing new research opportunities and cultivating faculty connections.

Announcing the Fourth Cohort of the Cedars-Sinai Managing to Leading Program

Thirty mid-level clinicians and administrative staff who work in community health centers and other safety-net organizations in Los Angeles have been selected to participate in Cedars-Sinai’s Community Clinic Initiative: Managing to Leading (M2L) program. Funded by Cedars-Sinai and administered by Healthforce Center at UCSF, this program develops promising staff with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to effectively lead change and improve health care delivery.