(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . DPHHS announces hiring incentives for health care workers, bonuses at certain facilities – Daily Montanan [1] ['Blair Miller', 'More From Author', '- January'] Date: 2024-01-17 The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services is launching new hiring incentives, retention bonuses and raises in an effort to recruit new health care workers, and to hold onto existing ones, at several of the state care facilities. DPHHS said the incentives are aimed at cutting down on the number of contracted clinical staff working at facilities like the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs and the Mental Health Nursing Care Center in Lewistown and to be sure the state’s health care facilities are maintaining staffing levels amid a healthcare worker shortage that has been ongoing since the COVID-19 pandemic. “The reliance on contracted clinical staff, commonly referred to as ‘travelers,’ continues to impact our budget in a way that is not sustainable, and it must be addressed,” DPHHS Director Charlie Brereton said in a statement. The department said it would use $300,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to give $7,500 payments to people hired externally as registered nurses, certified nurse aides, direct support professionals, psychiatric technicians and forensic mental health technicians who stay for at least a year at one of five state facilities. The new employees would have to be hired to work at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs, the Intensive Behavior Center in Boulder, the Montana Chemical Dependency Center in Butte, the Montana Mental Health Nursing Care Center in Lewistown, and the Montana Veterans’ Home in Columbia Falls. A November report said there was a vacancy rate of around 32% at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs as of November – down from 42% during Fiscal Year 2023. DPHHS spokesperson Jon Ebelt said employees without a probation period would get $3,750 after finishing six months of continuous full-time employment, and another $3,750 once they complete a full year in the position. Employees that have a year-long probation period would get the full $7,500 after finishing their first year of full-time employment, Ebelt said. The department created a new website that includes information on the incentives, links to the state careers page, and a guide to applying. The department also launched an advertising campaign for the program. Additionally, the department said it would be giving existing registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, psychiatric technicians, forensic mental health technicians and direct support professionals who work at the Montana State Hospital and Intensive Behavior Center one-time retention bonuses of $7,500 that the department says comes from paying fewer contracted staffers. A January DPHHS report showed the department spent around $57 million on contract staffing at four state facilities – most of that at the Montana State Hospital – in FY2023 and was projected to spend about $54.8 million during FY2024. Many of those same employees will also be getting raises, according to DPHHS. The department said direct support professionals, psychiatric technicians, and forensic mental health technicians would get $2-an-hour raises. Licensed practical nurses will get raises of $1.75 per hour and registered nurses will get $4 per hour raises, the department said. DPHHS is also adding a human resources manager and recruiter for the Healthcare Facilities Division that will be based in Helena and to whom HR staff at state facilities will report. The department says it is also doing more outreach at colleges and universities, promoting apprenticeships, and working with professional associations and recruitment companies to hire and retain more staff. The state careers website showed DPHHS had 120 job openings statewide as of Wednesday, including 64 positions at the five facilities where certain employees could receive the new hiring incentives. “Through a new incentive program, bonuses, and historic pay increases, we aim to continue strengthening operations at our state-run health care facilities by hiring and retaining staff dedicated to providing our valued patients with safe, high-quality care.” Brereton said. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2024/01/17/dphhs-announces-hiring-incentives-for-health-care-workers-bonuses-at-certain-facilities/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/