Two new reports released; webinar offered ways organizations can lead on this critical issue

California is facing a drastic shortfall of behavioral health care providers that has been exacerbated by the pandemic, an aging workforce, high turnover, poor geographic distribution, and a workforce that does not match the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of Californians.

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.

By Sunita Mutha, MD, FACP

By Joanne Spetz, PhD

The California Improvement Network (CIN) is a learning and action network that aims to advance the Quadruple Aim by identifying and spreading better ideas for care delivery. The network is fueled by the energy and innovations of its partner and member organizations. CIN is a project of the California Health Care Foundation and managed by Healthforce Center at UCSF.

L.A. Care Health Plan and Healthforce Center at UCSF are partnering together to host a four-part seminar series focused on providing topical content to clinic leaders in the Los Angeles county safety net. This seminar series is tailored for alumni from leadership programs including L.A. Care’s Physician Leadership Program and Healthforce Center-led Clinic Leadership Institute and Cedars-Sinai Managing to Leading Program.

One in five adults experience mental illness in a given year, and mental health conditions are exacerbated among minority groups. For example, the rate of depression among black youth is 30% higher than the average for their age group. Multiracial US adults are more likely to experience mental illness than adults who identify as any single race. Lesbian, gay and bisexual adults are twice as likely as heterosexual adults to experience a mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

At least six states with high opioid abuse rates also have strong work restrictions that hinder nurse practitioners (NPs) in prescribing medication that can help treat the problem, according to a study by researchers at Healthforce Center and UCSF. 

Source: UCSF Nursing's Science of Caring