Recruitment and Retention
The landscape of Maine’s maternal and child health (MCH) workforce continues to change. Staff use a combination of hybrid and in-person meetings for conducting business. Although there has been some turnover in MCH staffing we have been fortunate in recruiting skilled staff to replace those who have left and continue to make improved changes.
MCH Workforce
Maine’s economy has largely recovered from the pandemic; the number of available jobs and income levels are now close to the levels seen before 2020. However, the rapidly aging population continues to present a challenge, which is partially offset by in-migration to Maine that occurred during the pandemic.[1] The aging population will also require substantial increases in the health care workforce. To address this need, the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan devotes $20 million health care scholarships, training, recruitment, apprenticeships, and loan repayment programs.[2] Increased efforts to train and recruit nurses have resulted in the reduction of the projected nursing shortage from 3,200 in 2025 to 1,450.[3]
The Title V Program and Maine CDC are conscious of the proportion of public health staff approaching retirement age and in the coming years it will be important to assure that MCH leaders who possess the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of our state’s MCH population are in place to continue the work. This requires a succession plan that includes leadership training to assure there is not a gap when current MCH leaders retire.
Assessment of Training and Professional Development
As part of its Public Health Accreditation, the Maine CDC developed a workforce development plan for Maine CDC staff and others working in public health in Maine. Maine CDC staff continue to be availed of a multi-session leadership training that includes accountability, performance expectation and management and leadership effectiveness. The Maine CDC also offers staff interested in enhancing their leadership capacity to participate in an extensive training through the Hanley Center for Health Leadership.
In response to surveys previously conducted on the training needs and interests of MCH staff, the MCH program continued to offer bimonthly online training sessions on topics of interest to MCH program staff. Over the past year, we presented webinars on topics such as health equity perspectives from communities, maternal and mental health care, family engagement, and the impact of adverse and positive childhood experiences. While attendance at these online trainings is voluntary, they have been consistently well-attended, ranging from 12 to 22 participants. We will continue to offer trainings to program staff every other month and to collect feedback and suggestions for future training topics of interest.
In addition to opportunities available to Maine CDC staff, MCH providers statewide are also offering staff development opportunities. Maine plans to include a focus on expanding medical provider capacity to work with pregnant women with substance use disorders as well as, in treating substance-exposed infants. Maine’s Pediatric and Behavioral Health Partnership Initiative offers monthly live, virtual training webinars as well as a library of on-demand virtual trainings for mental health professionals. Maine’s Perinatal Outreach Coordinator will continue to provide technical assistance and training for all MCH providers in Maine and provide Basic Life Support in Obstetrics and Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics training to Emergency Medical Technician and emergency department staff in rural areas. The Maine CDC will continue to hold an annual MCH Conference to ensure a variety of providers receive cross-training.
Innovations in Staffing Structures and Key Partnerships
Maine Title V staff examined ways to improve the MCH Block Grant reporting and planning as well as methods for more effective use of resources. The Title V Director holds monthly meetings with program staff responsible for each of the population health domains. These meetings include representatives from other offices within the Maine Department of Health and Human Services as well as community and state level partners implementing the activities of our State Action Plan. The meetings have proven to be beneficial as the Title V Director has an opportunity to hear from participants about work plan successes and the group is able to offer suggestions to others experiencing challenges in making progress on activities. These meetings are also used as a mechanism for collaborating on other efforts through the sharing of resources.
The Title V program created an electronic reporting system for the MCH Block Grant action plans and tested it with the Domain Leads. Quarterly, those responsible for activities outlined in the action plan update their progress directly into the electronic system reducing the amount of time that, in the past, was required by domain leads to collect information from partners contributing to the action plan. While use of the reporting system has not been adopted by all Domain Leads, it has been a useful tool for some Domain Leads to track progress throughout the course of the year. Additional reminders and trainings will be conducted to encourage more Domain Leads to use the reporting system throughout the year, specifically those who joined the team after the initial launch of the tool.
[1] Maine Department of Labor, Employment Outlook to 2030. https://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/publications/pdf/EmploymentOutlook2030.pdf
[2] Governor Mills Announces $2.25 Million Investment to Strengthen Health Care Workforce in Rural Communities, December 2022. https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/news/governor-mills-announces-225-million-investment-strengthen-health-care-workforce-rural
[3] Portland Press Herald, “Stepped-up training cuts Maine’s projected nurse shortage in half,” March 2, 2022. https://www.pressherald.com/2022/03/02/stepped-up-training-cuts-maines-projected-nursing-shortage-in-half/
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