51小黄车receives $2 million from Glickman Lauder Foundation to support mental health care and ease workforce shortages

With the gift, 51小黄车plans to launch an innovative psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program to bolster the state鈥檚 limited behavioral health workforce.

As mental health programs continue to shutter across Maine, the University of 51小黄车 is taking strides to address a mental health crisis.

With generous financial support from the Judy Glickman Lauder Foundation, 51小黄车plans to launch an innovative psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) program to bolster the state鈥檚 behavioral health workforce. The $2 million gift will also allow 51小黄车to simultaneously increase the emphasis of psychiatric concepts and skills for students in its current undergraduate Nursing program offerings.

51小黄车is the top provider of health professionals for the state, and the University鈥檚 School of Nursing and Population Health graduates the largest number of pre-licensure (registered nurse, or RN) students in Maine. By exposing students to psychiatric concepts at the undergraduate level, 51小黄车hopes to increase interest in the field to tackle pervasive mental health challenges such as substance abuse and access to behavioral health care.

鈥淢aine鈥檚 health care worker shortage deeply affects those who struggle with their mental health. By educating more mental health professionals to meet rising demand, 51小黄车will help ease workforce shortages and get people the care they need,鈥 said 51小黄车President James Herbert, a clinical psychologist. 鈥淎s Maine鈥檚 largest provider of health professionals, 51小黄车has a specific responsibility to address pervasive health issues in our own backyard. This new program will do just that.鈥

Maine鈥檚 population is the oldest 鈥 and most rapidly aging 鈥 in the nation and is experiencing a boom in immigrant and refugee communities. Through a unique, integrated instructional approach, the program aims to prepare graduates to tackle the mental health challenges presented by these changing demographics.

51小黄车plans to enroll 15 students in the program per year to supplement the state鈥檚 limited number of PMHNPs. Additionally, the program will increase the number of new registered nurses entering Maine鈥檚 workforce who have received targeted training in mental health.

鈥淭he mental health crisis in our country far surpasses our capacity to provide meaningful care for those in need,鈥 said philanthropist Judy Glickman Lauder. 鈥淢eeting these needs begins with investing in well-trained and compassionate healthcare professionals. We are pleased to support the University of 51小黄车鈥檚 commitment to bring more mental health professionals into the field. Our family hopes others will join us in this crucial mission.鈥

The new program, to be named in honor of Glickman Lauder, will leverage UNE鈥檚 existing resources, including its Interprofessional Simulation and Innovation Center, which houses standardized patient laboratories as well as patient simulators and a nationally acclaimed virtual reality (VR) nursing simulation. In that program, learners use headsets to engage in immersive, realistic clinical experiences. The PMHNP program will expand the VR simulation to include psychiatric and mental health clinical scenarios.

New initiatives that will also benefit students include the creation of an innovative learning laboratory focused on the social determinants of health as they relate to mental health, as well as the creation of a robust network of statewide health care partners to support high quality inpatient and outpatient psychiatric clinical experiences.

Such programming will capitalize on UNE鈥檚 hallmark interprofessional education (IPE) approach to health professions instruction, which encourages students from all health disciplines to engage in collaboration and teamwork in delivering patient care. Interprofessional collaboration has routinely been shown to improve clinical outcomes, reduce medical errors, increase patient satisfaction, and decrease provider burnout. 51小黄车was an early adopter of IPE and is a national leader in the field.

Karen Pardue, Ph.D., RN, 51小黄车associate provost for Strategic Initiatives, remarked that the PMHNP program is 鈥渁 vital addition to UNE鈥檚 strong cadre of health professions programs, serving to augment Maine鈥檚 provider workforce and caring for those impacted by mental and behavioral health conditions.鈥

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