The Ohio Alliance for Population Health (OAPH) is creating a behavioral health corridor across southern Ohio to increase a behavioral health workforce pipeline across 20 counties. The supply of mental health professionals per 100,000 population in southern Ohio is 51% lower than the national average, and 41% lower than the average in the rest of the state.
The goal is a comprehensive student enhancement program aimed at promoting the recruitment, retention, and graduation of undergraduate and graduate-level social work students. Within the corridor, students pursuing behavioral health and social work professions from high school through the graduate level will be eligible to participate in tailored curriculum, receive financial support, and will be offered experiential learning opportunities in behavioral health settings.
A health corridor is defined as two or more organizations that share resources and collaborate on an action plan to tackle a health-related issue. The Southern Ohio behavioral health corridor is a project of the Southern Ohio Behavioral Health Initiative (SOBHI). The corridor is a partnership between Ohio University, Miami University, and five two-year colleges across southern Ohio, funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education. OAPH is funding this work with a grant of $669,843 from Miami University.
SOBHI will combine the resources and expertise of administrators, health care professionals, academic researchers, and policy experts from Ohio University and more than 50 affiliated universities, hospital associations and health care provider organizations to solve “complex and pressing population health concerns across the state.” Information about when the SOBHI will go live is not available, nor is information about the projected increase of the region’s workforce of social workers and community health workers through the program.
Specifically, the opportunities provided through SOBHI include:
- High school students: $3,000 is available to those completing practicum placement. The outcome goal is 25 students earning their Community Health Worker (CHW) Credential.
- High school Summer Scholars students: The full cost of Miami University’s Summer Scholars program will be covered for 40 students.
- College students and community members: Paid stipends are available for both 15 to 20 college students and/or community members who earn their preliminary Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist Assistant (OCPSA) certificate ($3,000 per individual), and for 15 to 20 college students and/or community members who earn their preliminary Ohio Chemical Dependency Counselor Assistant (OCDCA) certificate ($1,500 per individual).
- Associate degree students: A $5,000 educational stipend is available to 46 Allied health graduates from partner community colleges who have earned their associate’s degree and wish to complete a bachelor’s degree in social work from Miami University or Ohio University.
- Degree completers: A $5,000 educational stipend is available to 10 prior college students who need credits to complete their bachelor’s degree in socialwork from Miami University or Ohio University.
- Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) students: Monetary incentives are available for 20 BSW and 20 MSW students enrolled in social work programs at Miami University. These include a one-time tuition scholarship of $10,000; $4,500 for completing their practicum placements; and a total of $4,000 for living expenses ($450 per month) to live in the county of their practicum placement while completing the placement.
For more information, contact: Kerri Shaw, MSW, LISW-S, CHW, Community Health Worker Lead, Alliance for Population Health, Ohio University, Morton 567, Athens, Ohio 45701; Email: healthalliance@ohio.edu; Website: https://www.ohio.edu/chsp/southern-ohio-behavioral-health-initiative