There is currently a “staffing crisis” in rural areas when it comes to mental health, Stacy Brown of Bridgeway says.
Brown, who is Vice President of Behavioral Health Services at Bridgeway, says one reason for the crisis is that many individuals earning their master’s degree in social services, such as counseling and social work, are moving to urban areas.
Another reason is that it is difficult for rural mental health services to compete for salaries in larger, urban, areas.
Brown says that despite higher wages in urban areas, social service workers are still needed in rural healthcare.
“People really look at that and they have to because they have to build a life and they have to pay their bills and have all of that, but we need those people here too.
There’s a huge difference between being a rural community provider and an urban provider, and we have to find some kind of equal way to make it work throughout the state.”
To hear more of Stacy Brown’s discussion about rural mental healthcare, go to www.radiomonmouth.com under the news podcasts tab on the homepage, or listen to the interview below.
