 Community Health Network uses state training grant to
help save lives
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 20, 2018) -- Employer training
grants are beginning to have the kind of major impact that was envisioned when
the program was rolled out last year as part of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s NextLevel
Jobs initiative.
The grants are used by
employers to train and reskill employees for high-demand jobs. But grants awarded
to Indianapolis-based Community Health Network, Community Howard Regional
Health in Kokomo and Lutheran Child and Family Services will be used to train
workers in a critical skill that extends far beyond the workplace—helping to
save lives through suicide prevention.
The three each received a $50,000 grant ($150,000 total) to train or upskill a
total of 65 employees in behavioral health evidence-based practices, including suicide
prevention.
“In health care, so much of the focus is on medical
assistants and certain occupations, where there’s a really big need in the
acute hospital space,” said Judy Hasselkus, DWD’s program director, employer
engagement and sector specialist for health care, agriculture and life
sciences. “But Community does a lot more in behavioral health care. From the
top down, they’re focused on behavioral health and suicide prevention.”
For instance, Community and WTHR-TV Channel 13 are partners in Have Hope, a
multi-year public service effort to raise awareness about suicide in Indiana
and to help more Hoosiers get the help they need.
The goal is to drive more Hoosiers to HaveHope.com, an online resource offered
by Community that provides information about how to start the conversation
about suicide, testimonials, statistics and more. It also provides resources
for users to connect with care, whether it be the national suicide hotline or
Community behavioral health services locally.
“Critical to the success of Community’s suicide prevention
efforts is ensuring proper training for our caregivers,” said Cathy Boggs,
executive director for government and affiliate relations for Community’s
behavioral health services. “The Employer Training Grants make such training
possible, and we are confident it will have real, life-changing impact on
Hoosiers across central Indiana.”
Programs benefitting suicide prevention receive even more attention in
September, which is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Suicide annually
takes the lives of more than 41,000 people nationally, according to the
National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Employer training grants are part of Indiana’s NextLevel Jobs initiative, which
awards employers $5,000 per employee up to a maximum of $50,000 to train and
retrain workers. NextLevel Jobs is part of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Next Level
Indiana agenda and was introduced in 2017.
The grants are administered through the Indiana Department of Workforce
Development and available to help fill in-demand positions within six priority
sectors: advanced manufacturing, building and construction, information
technology and business services, health and life sciences, transportation and
logistics, and agriculture.
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About the Indiana Department of
Workforce Development
DWD
serves the worker and the employer to ensure workplace success. DWD is
committed to innovating and invigorating Indiana’s economic future by providing
WorkOne Career Centers, Unemployment Insurance, Labor Market Information,
Regional Workforce Strategies and Professional Training. Through these
services, DWD is able to develop a premier workforce that enables Indiana
employers to flourish and entices businesses from outside our state to relocate
to Indiana.
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