Eastern State Hospital in Medical Lake recently held job fairs in an effort to fill new positions at the state-owned mental health facility.
“We’re expanding, we have a new ward,” ESH’s Julie Allen, human resources director said. “That’s why we’re looking and actively recruiting.” The increase in staffing was necessary with the expansion of mental health services, particularly on the forensics side, Allen explained.
It’s a competitive world for the pool of prospective employees, especially with Spokane and its many health-related facilities so close.
“It doesn’t sound like a long commute, but when you have the choice to stay right next to your house, it can be a challenge,” Allen said. Eastern State is looking for registered nurses and mental health technicians.
The search for new staff will fill positions in some areas unique to the needs of the mental health community, Shannon Bragiel, talent acquisition operations manager for the Washington State Deptartment of Social and Health Services explained.
The expanded services come over concerns about how mental health patients have been served, Bragiel said.
“We’ve done a couple of these (job fairs) now,” Bragiel said. “It was focusing on hiring RNs (registered nurses).”
Bragiel said among other needs are for what are called NAR’s or nursing assistant registered. “Applicants need to have that designation to be qualified,” she added.
Another category is the NAC, or nursing assistant certified. That is a special certification, even more advanced, Bragiel explained. “Those are the kinds of experience and background we’re looking for.”
Yet another job class in demand in the new staffing push is that of psychiatric security attendants. “What’s special about those is they are the mental health tech on an advanced level,” Bragiel said.
They work exclusively in the forensic unit.
The forensic unit is a place for mental health patients who have been ordered by the court to be housed in a state hospital for a variety of reasons, Bragiel explained. “It could be that they‘re awaiting trial (and) they need an evaluation. Or, perhaps, they have had a trial and an assessment and are awaiting further rulings,” she said.
The end goal is that they might be there for a period of time and offer what Bragiel called “recovery treatment.”
The desire in filling these openings is to have people who have backgrounds working in mental health facilities for a couple of years, or have a college background.
The present hiring effort hopes to have positions filled and people on the job by May, Bragiel said. As for the job fairs, “We did it at the first of March knowing we were going to miss April,” Bragiel said. The hospital holds employee orientations each month.
Another hiring effort is going to be made at Lakeland Village, Bragiel said. It takes place Thursday, May 19. That day, officials will be looking to fill RNs, LPNs and attendant counselor positions.
“People think of counseling degrees,” Bragiel said. “It’s not that type of work at all, it’s more direct care.” The position will be along the lines of a nursing assistant.
Eastern State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital established in 1891. Today, ESH has a patient capacity of 287 beds, divided into three different units, the Adult Psychiatric Unit, the Geropsychiatric Unit and the Forensic Services Unit.
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.
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