UnitedHealthCare Services Inc.
09/18/2024 | Press release | Archived content
Providing more access to mental health providers in Colorado
Jamie Plock has lived in Grand Junction on the Western Slope of Colorado all her life. She was working at a high school as a career advisor when she felt a desire to change careers, hoping to make a different kind of impact on her community.
She enrolled in the Master of Social Work program at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, where she had an internship working in the emergency room at a local hospital. Today, that valuable experience led her to a full-time job at that same emergency room, where she is now a social worker.
Her role often means finding people who are in need of additional support or resources - not just to support their physical well-being but their emotional or mental health as well. Working in an emergency room can often mean a crisis has occurred, so having the education to help her provide helpful services has been crucial. It can also mean assistance with connecting the dots.
"I'm able to say: 'Have you considered talking to a therapist or psychiatrist? How can I best support you?'" she said. "Now I have the education and experience to offer effective resources and interventions."
Although she took out student loans to attain her degree, as part of a special program, she hasn't had to repay those loans, giving her more security and a foothold in the community she loves.
This program of repaying student loans - and solidifying behavioral health workers' placement within Grand Junction - is part of a $1 million collaboration between Colorado Mesa University (CMU), Rocky Mountain Health Plans, a UnitedHealthcare company, and the city of Grand Junction itself.
In Grand Junction, like many other places, there is a nationwide shortage of mental health and social service providers - more than 2.5 million Coloradans live in an area with a shortage of behavioral health workers.1 Colorado also ranks in the bottom half in access to mental health care and has one of the highest suicide rates in the country.2
With Grand Junction being about a four-hour drive from Denver, it can be difficult to not only receive services, but also retain workers.
"We are honored to support Colorado Mesa University's Master of Social Work (MSW) Student Loan Repayment Program to help eligible graduates pay back student loans and launch their career right here in the Western Slope," said Patrick Gordon, CEO, Rocky Mountain Health Plans. "Our shared commitment with the city of Grand Junction and CMU will help expand access to mental health care in the Grand Junction area by attracting and retaining highly skilled mental health professionals."
"We are dedicated to reducing barriers and increasing the diversity and capacity of our workforce," said Michelle Sunkel, Director of Master of Social Work Program at Colorado Mesa University. "We have a dedicated faculty and community supporting this program, so thank you to everyone for showing up for us, assisting with skill development, supporting advanced practice, and helping improve our community."
For Jamie, one of the first program recipients, she sees her role as mission-driven - and the program has allowed that mission to bear fruit, now that she no longer has to worry about student loans.
"For this program to be able to offset those costs - it's absolutely significant," she said. "If I didn't have this program, would I need to take a job at a different spot in a different town? But I don't want to. I want to be in my community."