Futuro Health is making it easier for students to connect with employers, and for employers to find and hire the qualified healthcare workers they need.  The new Futuro Health Job Marketplace, now available to Futuro Health students and alumni via their portal and welcomes additional employers of healthcare workers. 

“We are attracted to Futuro Health graduates and the value and expertise these workers bring to AlliedUP,” said allied health staffing provider AlliedUP CEO Carey Carpineta. “The Job Search Marketplace allows us to find and hire skilled healthcare individuals who are qualified, well-rounded, and diverse.”

“CommonSpirit Health is proud to partner with Futuro Health to invest in the future of our allied healthcare workforce,” added Wanda Cole-Fieman, Senior Vice President, Talent Acquisition at CommonSpirit Health. “Connecting Futuro Health graduates to job opportunities within CommonSpirit Health is vital to ensuring a highly qualified workforce that is reflective of our communities, in order to improve the health of people we serve.”  In 2019, Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives came together to form CommonSpirit Health.

“To successfully support the millions of workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) – rather than four-year degrees – transition into higher-wage work, we need efforts like Futuro Health’s Job Marketplace to help employers discover and hire STARs based on their skills,” said Scott Gullick, Regional Marketplace Lead – Bay Area, Opportunity@Work. “We applaud Futuro Health as they continue to back efforts that help employers see beyond the degree and connect STARs with the jobs they deserve.”

“Because Futuro Health has a work-ready approach to training and educating adult students, it makes perfect sense to create an environment where Futuro Health students and employers can connect to secure fruitful and successful employment relationships,” said Anthony Dalton, Futuro Health Vice President & Chief Data Scientist.

Healthcare employers who provide a special applicant tracking code can be alerted when Futuro Health’s credentialed students apply through the marketplace.

The features and functionality of the Job Search Marketplace will grow over time.  Students and alumni can access it through the Futuro Health portal.  Interested employers should contact partnership@futurohealth.org.

For many people in underserved and underinvested communities, the emergency room is the all-in-one provider of healthcare. This presents a multitude of problems for both patient and state. According to data released by UnitedHealth Group, non-emergency visits to the ER add $32 billion a year to national health care costs. Paradoxically, patients who need ongoing, but non-emergency, health care see little benefit from receiving treatments from ERs or urgent cares. This has created a no-win situation in which patients aren’t receiving the care they need, health care costs are skyrocketing, and resources that could close the gap in underserved communities are dwindling. Futuro Health seeks to mitigate this issue by growing the number of Care Coordinators in the workforce to better serve at-risk communities.

“Patients who don’t have access to health care are not being adequately served by ERs, and this problem was particularly evident during the pandemic as COVID-19 patients inundated hospitals everywhere,” said John Cordova, Futuro Health’s Program Director of Allied Health. “Because ERs must prioritize emergency issues, chronically ill or mentally ill patients often wait hours and hours to be seen, and then have no resources once they are discharged. Care Coordinators fill the gap between patients and ERs to not only prevent readmissions but provide ongoing care.”

The Care Coordinator program for chronically ill patients is a relatively new offering at Futuro Health, and focuses on training students to manage patient care and work with patients after they are discharged from the hospital to make follow-up appointments, obtain prescriptions and special equipment, enter therapy, and regulate their health. Care Coordinators are an important asset for chronically ill patients, especially those in underserved communities. Chronically ill patients often struggle to understand the complexities of their conditions and how to effectively prevent symptoms and flare-ups. Care Coordinators not only assist with chronically ill patient care, but also educate patients who have long been lacking the resources and attention to manage and improve their health.

Futuro Health also offers tuition-free scholarship to attend an accredited Care Coordinator program that emphasizes Behavioral Health – helpful training when working with patients who frequent ERs. Furthermore, behavioral health issues have increased during the pandemic, yet there is still a dearth of resources in underserved and disadvantaged communities. In a National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, researchers found that patients can’t find satisfactory outpatient treatment for mental and behavioral health problems and there is no place to continue treatment once released from the ER. Behavioral Health Care Coordinators ensure that the best resources are being used to help the patient get better and promote a patient’s mental well-being when they are in recovery from behavioral, mental, and addictive disorders. 

Futuro Health’s Care Coordinator programs are accepting credentialed allied health workers who are interested in upskilling their talents and learning new interventions in health. Example roles who are eligible from this upskilling include LVNs, LVN leads or trainers; MAs, MA  leads or trainers; counselors; social workers; physical therapists; occupational therapists; speech therapists; respiratory therapists; optometry techs; pharmacy techs; dieticians/nutritionists; dental hygienists; community health workers; and other clinical roles with responsibility for coordinating or administering healthcare. 

Learn more information on Futuro Health Care Coordinator programs.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his May Revise budget proposal on May 14, outlining the budget projections and expenditure estimates for priority items established in January. Among these items is a prodigious investment in Community Health Workers (CHWs), designating this vital role as a Medi-Cal covered service. 

CHWs have been a proven vehicle in reducing unnecessary ER visits while serving poor and uninsured patients. A clinical trial out of Massachusetts General Hospital found that CHW interventions reduce hospital readmissions and improve preventative care among ‘clinically complex’ patients. Patients who are considered ‘clinically complex’ include people with chronic illnesses or conditions that require ongoing medical attention. Within the 65,000 shortage of allied healthcare workers in California, CHWs are a key asset in helping patients like these, as well as those within underserved and disadvantaged communities.

While the positive impact of CHWs has been recognized, the May Revise tackles an important hurdle that has impeded past CHW investment efforts. The May Revise outlines CHWs as a service that will be reimbursed under Medi-Cal, which will provide an incentive for many clinics and hospitals to hire CHWs to deliver care. This marks an important milestone in enhancing access and addressing barriers to patient health outcomes. Governor Newsom also included other vital patient advocate roles, such as doulas, under Medi-Cal coverage.

According to the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, CHWs “have lived experience and strong empathy with the diverse communities they serve. CHWs provide vital education and navigation assistance, and can bridge gaps in communication and reduce health and mental health disparities experienced by vulnerable communities in California.”

The investment is great news for those choosing to enter CHW careers, like the students enrolling in Futuro Health’s new program. Futuro Health has advocated for the importance of CHWs and other allied health positions as a means to address racial and societal equity gaps in healthcare. These middle-skill roles are often underinvested, yet represent one of the largest workforce shortages in the state. The May Revise signals growing opportunities for Futuro Health CHW trainees upon program completion. While there exists multiple CHW training options available, Futuro Health is underwriting adults with tuition-free scholarships to attend an accredited program where CHWs gain behavioral health training as part of their credential

For more information on the Community Health Worker Program with Behavioral Health Emphasis at Futuro Health, please visit the Futuro Health catalog.