Survey: Workforce crisis hits behavioral healthcare providers
Photo | Grant Welker
Adcare is among the region's behavioral health providers.
Staffing vacancies and turnover have led to waitlists and strained resources among behavioral health providers, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Association for Behavioral Healthcare.
The survey of 37 Massachusetts outpatient providers, representing 124 outpatient mental health clinic sites, found hundreds of vacancies are creating months-long waitlists and an 11% decline in individuals served compared to 2019, according to a release by ABH.
Those respondents reported 640 staffing vacancies — an average of 17 per clinic — with more master’s level clinicians leaving the position than can be hired.
According to the survey, this has contributed to nearly 14,000 people on waitlists to receive outpatient services, with 67% of responders saying it took nine months or more to fill a psychiatric position. Additionally, it was found children and adolescents spend an average of 15 weeks on a waitlist before receiving services.
In its release, ABH attributes these vacancies to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as the continued opioid epidemic.
However, the organization also cites a pay gap of nearly 38% in 2020 between behavioral health salaries and those at acute care hospitals for equivalent positions. Meaning, a licensed clinician can earn $20,000 more annually in a hospital setting than in the community-based behavioral health system, according to ABH.
The organization highlighted a number of steps to address the workforce crisis, including legislation supporting behavioral health and primary care, providers increasing outpatient clinic rates, expansion of student loan repayment, and expanding MassHealth’s allowable providers to include license-eligible clinicians.
The full report is available online. The Association for Behavioral Healthcare represents 80 organizations that are the primary providers of community-based behavioral healthcare in Massachusetts.
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