BH Fellows Program Grows with New Cohort of Frontline Workers

BH Fellows gather for a retreat at Phipps Conservatory.

The BH Fellows program welcomed its second cohort of behavioral health frontline staff during the October 11^th retreat at Phipps Conservatory. This cohort of fellows includes a mix of 22 new and experienced family-based therapists and clinicians, substance use disorder case managers, service coordinators, and crisis clinicians from nine providers across Allegheny County.

The BH Fellows program is a pioneering Allegheny County-sponsored workforce initiative, created and managed in partnership between the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Community Care Behavioral Health, and Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF). BH Fellows aims to make behavioral health jobs in target service areas more sustainable and attractive for new and existing employees. JHF serves as the lead partner for developing and implementing the professional development for the fellows and directing recruitment efforts for the program.

JHF Behavioral Health Project Manager Bridget McNamee, MID welcomes the BH Fellows and provides an overview of the program.

BH Fellows provides educational loan repayments (up to $25,000 for participants with a bachelor's degree or up to $45,000 for participants with a master's degree), competitive salaries, and career development experiences within a cohort model in exchange for a two-year commitment to work at an approved provider within a specific behavioral health role.

The BH Fellows program's professional development curriculum supports the growth of fellows through skill building, peer-to-peer learning and support opportunities, and networking within and among cohorts and community leaders. During the monthly training sessions, participants will discuss relevant themes to their work, including burnout, safety, cultural humility, trauma, harm reduction, and utilizing supervision. Expert guests and community organizations will provide insight into appropriate topics and expand the fellows' network and known resources for their clients.

Fellows pot plants for an activity during the retreat.

This second cohort joins the first cohort of 24 fellows, and both groups will have opportunity to network together as well as sustain parallel training programs that will be tailored based on the expressed needs of the participants and feedback from provider sites. As additional cohorts are launched in the coming months, those new groups of fellows will benefit from networking across the groups and the ongoing refinement and iteration of the leadership and professional development program.

Applications are now open for the next cohort of the BH Fellows program and are due on November 15. Those seeking new positions in behavioral health jobs and existing staff at participating provider sites are welcome to apply. There are options for those without any prior experience in behavioral health. Visit here for more program details and to apply.