Bowen’s Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce is getting attention in the press across Indiana. Check out this article from the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:
Indiana has a shortage of mental health professionals, a situation a provider describes as a crisis, a report released Wednesday says.
“The Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce” seeks to address that shortage by identifying opportunities and recommendations to strengthen the state’s pipeline of those professionals.
Indiana’s mental health care is in crisis, with both real-life impacts on the everyday lives of millions of Hoosiers and for the long-term economic outlook of our state. Our Playbook tackles that crisis head-on, offering concrete policy solutions to increase the number of mental health care workers in Indiana. Find out more here.
Mark your calendars for an inspiring evening at the upcoming CTS Talks, a series of lectures given at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, featuring a thought-provoking presentation by our director, Dr. Hannah L. Maxey. As a guest speaker, Dr. Maxey will deliver a talk titled “Mental Health: The Crisis and a Call to Action for People of Faith.” This timely discussion will address the critical issue of mental health in America and its significant impact on individuals and communities of faith. Dr. Maxey will explore how faith communities are uniquely positioned to respond to this crisis, challenging attendees to become ambassadors of love and hope. Her expertise promises to shed light on the silent struggles many face due to stigma and the difficulties in accessing care amidst professional shortages.
CTS Talks is known for its TED Talk-style lectures that bring together intellectual curiosity and community reflection. By participating in this event, our director contributes to a broader conversation on mental health and faith.
We’re pleased to see Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) sharing their involvement in the Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce.
CTS’s unique model of integrating education, clinical experience, and community outreach was recognized as an institutional best practice in the Playbook.
Bowen Assistant Director of Data and Research Sierra Vaughn
Bowen’s Assistant Director of Data and Research Sierra Vaughn gave a presentation on rural health care in Indiana to the Indiana Rural Health Association on August 1.
Mirroring national trends, rural health care in Indiana faces significant challenges. The state has seen hospital closures, with 52 rural hospitals remaining as of 2024, and 25% of open hospitals experiencing service reductions. Workforce shortages are acute, particularly in mental health, where rural areas have two-thirds fewer behavioral health professionals than urban areas. Additionally, 35 Indiana counties lack a birthing hospital, impacting maternal care access. These issues are compounded by broader rural health disparities, including slower life expectancy increases and higher mortality rates for conditions like heart disease and cancer compared to urban areas.
Read more about the challenges faced by rural hospitals in Indiana and nationwide as well as potential solutions in Vaughn’s presentation here:
Bowen Center Director Dr. Hannah Maxey presented August 1 the Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce to the Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Use Disorder. Indiana faces an enormous challenge of recruiting and retaining a sufficient number of mental and behavioral health workers, with every county in the state meeting the criteria for a federally designated workforce shortage in these areas.
The results are staggering, with real-life implications for hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers:
