Photo courtesy of: Patton College of EducationDr. Christine Bhat
The Patton College of Education prides itself on serving communities near and far and meeting the human and social needs of any and all populations. While this commitment often involves work on national and global levels, it also occurs in the College’s own backyard in and around Southeast Ohio.
Dr. Christine Suniti Bhat has more than upheld that commitment. The Counseling and Higher Education professor – along with Dr. Sherry Shamblin, Chief Strategy Officer at Hopewell Health Centers (HHC) – recently completed the third year of their multi-year, $540,201-grant, "Train, Gain, Retain: Counselors Serving Children, Adolescents, and Transitional-Age Youth in Rural Appalachia."
“This grant expanded and strengthened the behavioral-health workforce in Southeast Ohio,” said Bhat, who served as project director and principal investigator. “This region has many economic challenges, including poverty and higher-than-average behavioral-health diagnoses.”
The federal grant was funded through the Health Resources & Services Administration’s (HRSA) Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training initiative. It enabled 32 master’s students within the Counselor Education programs at Ohio University-Athens and -Chillicothe to work directly with local children and adolescents to address their mental health needs. Students received a $10,000 stipend for their Clinical Mental Health (CMH) internships, which were completed at HHC. These internships – which require 600 clocked hours at a site – are typically unpaid.
“This type of support for our students was unprecedented in the history of our program,” said Bhat. “We were delighted to partner with HHC and our alumna, Dr. Sherry Shamblin, on it.”
An integrated health care organization, HHC offers behavioral health, primary care, and dentistry services at 22 locations across nine counties in Southeast Ohio. It seeks to provide affordable, high-quality holistic care for all.
“All the counties we serve are mental health workforce shortage areas,” said Shamblin, who has bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Ohio University. “The grant has allowed us to fill much-needed counseling positions and close gaps in care in our region. The student stipends were particularly helpful in attracting students to our more rural clinics, where they are most needed and appreciated by their respective communities.”
All 32 students receiving stipends graduated with an M.Ed. in Counseling. Upon graduation, 24 students (75 percent) achieved paid employment as CMH counselors or School Counselors serving children, adolescents, and transitional-age youth in Southeast Ohio, including 19 students (59 percent) now working at HHC.
“Our goal at the outset of the grant had been to retain 50 percent of the graduates in this region,” said Bhat. “We were extremely happy to reach the 75-percent threshold.”
While not in this region, three of the 32 interns gained employment at the prestigious Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Two students are enrolled in Ph.D. programs.
“The goal was to recruit counseling students who were motivated to serve in this region, provide them with paid internships, and facilitate their employment and retention within the region,” said Bhat.
HHC supported Patton College students throughout the grant. Its clinical supervisors, for example, received a stipend for supervising OHIO interns, thus incentivizing new supervisors to participate. Supervisors embraced their mentoring role, and those who had not previously supervised interns found they enjoyed it a great deal.
“It enhanced their own professional development,” said Shamblin. “Many successfully advocated to employ the student or students they supervised.”
Bhat and Shamblin remain partners, as the project was approved for a fourth and final year through a No-Cost Extension. They are working to sustain student stipends to expand on Integrated Care training modules, which include Addictions and Medication Assisted Treatment. In fact, HHC is applying for the HRSA Opioid Response Planning Grant with several partners, including OHIO. If funded, HHC, OHIO, and other stakeholders will develop strategic and sustainability plans to provide critical services and workforce training to help individuals who have been impacted by the Opiate Crisis in Southeast Ohio.
“Graduates have been employed by HHC to expand services in several areas that have typically been difficult to recruit for,” said Shamblin, “including Vinton County’s Behavioral Health Clinic and teams providing Medication Assisted Treatment for Opiate Use Disorders.”
While the grant helped OHIO students and HHC employees, residents of Southeast Ohio benefitted the most.
“By strengthening an existing relationship with our community partner, HHC, we have been able to train skilled counselors to serve children, adolescents, and families in Southeast Ohio,” said Bhat. “Without Dr. Shamblin’s support of our interns and graduates, this project wouldn’t have been possible – or ongoing.”
Photo courtesy of: Patton College of EducationDr. Sherry Shambin
Photo courtesy of: Patton College of EducationPatton College Counseling student Ashley Butcher participates in clinical case discussions and integrated care treatment planning. She has accepted a position as a counselor at Hopewell Health Centers.