Penn Highlands Behavioral Health Center nears completions; search for staff continues

CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) – Later this yr, Penn Highlands will entire expansion on its new behaviorist health and fitness heart. The venture will put the DuBois clinic at the forefront of behavioral overall health solutions across all of central Pennsylvania. When the behavioral overall health heart opens, the services provided will assist to meet the expanding demands for psychological wellness. Nevertheless, in order to provide these probably lifetime-conserving solutions, there has to be a team to operate the flooring, and that has posed the most significant challenge, the medical center claims.

“Able to give new companies to the space that are not at this time in this article. So it is pretty important to start actively recruiting and selecting to be ready to teach persons correctly to open individuals models,” reported Rebecca Kear, a talent acquisition supervisor at Penn Highlands.

Recruitment endeavours for the medical center enlargement have been achieved with some difficulties, as the health care subject continues to shrink.

“Shortages of impacted not just behavioral well being recruiting but all across the well being procedure. And frankly, overall health methods throughout the region,” stated Richard Nenneau, vice president of behavioral health at Penn Highlands.

That, paired with a federal vaccine mandate has left dozens of work opportunities open, which they hope to fill by keeping open interviews.

“Open interviews would be for all positions. From behavioral well being assistants, LPN’s, registered nurses, therapists, psych admission coordinators,” Kear said.

The 3-floor growth will consist of: identical-working day wander-in services on the initial flooring, a 22-mattress acute little one service heart on the next flooring, and the third flooring will be home to prolonged stay for small children and adolescents for up to 90 times. At whole capability, the 50,000 sq. foot addition will also develop about 200 new positions at the healthcare facility. But all those work will not appear all at after.

The hospital will use a phased tactic to opening the distinctive companies it will provide. Due to the concerns of acquiring healthcare employees throughout the region, paired with source chain concerns that have stalled design at periods during this job, Nenneau claims the phased strategy will permit for superior workflow at 1st.

In the phased technique Nenneau pointed out, the two floors dedicated to boy or girl and adolescent expert services are in the vicinity of completion, and the outpatient providers flooring is about 75{b574a629d83ad7698d9c0ca2d3a10ad895e8e51aa97c347fc42e9508f0e4325d} full. He also claimed the hospital need to first open up its doorways to patients by early this summer months, and he’s hopeful that staff members will immediately be loaded.

“The final month or so we’ve viewed much more and far more men and women appear in for interviews,” Nenneau said. “People are coming back to get the job done. They’re realizing that healthcare is a gratifying and tough profession.”