Roux partnership to help fill Maine’s healthcare jobs
Maine faces big healthcare challenges, with a shrinking workforce and as one of the nation’s oldest and most rural states. Many frontline positions remain unfilled. To address the urgent need, the Roux Institute, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, and healthcare partners are leading a unique pilot program to attract more aspiring healthcare professionals to the state.
After college, many graduates eyeing healthcare careers take a post-baccalaureate gap year prior to their clinical training. The Roux will connect these college graduates with yearlong entry-level jobs—including in rural settings—at its partner healthcare organizations across the state. Short term, the program will help fill open positions. Long term, it will boost the state’s pipeline of healthcare professionals.
Attract and retain healthcare talent
The Roux is well positioned to oversee the project—thanks to its partnership with Bouvé and vast partner network, connections within Northeastern’s global university system, and mission as an economic engine for the state. Maine’s Department of Labor funded the project as part of Gov. Janet T. Mills’ plan to develop initiatives that will help Maine businesses recruit and retain employees.
The hope is that spending a post-baccalaureate gap year in Maine will encourage participants to learn about healthcare in Maine and potentially join the state’s healthcare workforce in the future. “We want to build a pipeline so our participants and partners have a good experience, and we ultimately retain these talented professionals,” says Kathy Simmonds, a Roux clinical professor who will oversee the project’s implementation.
The Roux, Bouvé, and industry partners—MaineHealth, Northern Light Health, Oasis Free Clinics, Knox Clinic, the Maine Family Planning Association, and the Maine Primary Care Association—will identify positions participants can fill and offer other career-building opportunities. The 40 participants—20 in both 2023 and 2024—will also receive a $500 monthly housing stipend and access to Roux-organized activities.
It can be difficult to attract young professionals to rural areas unless they have a connection. This program allows us to form those connections, so when they’re professionally trained, they’ll see the advantages and come back to work here.
DR. CLIFF DACSO
Board Member, Knox Clinic
The Roux and Bouvé are partnering with the University of Southern Maine and the University of New England to help recruit healthcare graduates into these positions; the program is open to students nationwide.
“We’re providing an on-ramp for people who might not even know these job opportunities exist,” says project lead Aileen Huang-Saad, Roux’s director of life sciences and engineering.
Huang-Saad imagined the program with Steve Zoloth, professor in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences on Northeastern’s Boston campus. She said it’s an example of how creating partnerships across Northeastern’s global university system can benefit communities in the system.
Zoloth, who directs Bouvé’s undergraduate health sciences program, says students use gap years, in part, to gain work experience that will strengthen their applications for med school and other clinical training programs, such as advanced practice nursing, physician assistant, physical therapy, behavioral health, and others. Zoloth adds that jobs in rural settings will provide rich, varied experiences unfamiliar to many participants.
A new approach to address workforce needs
MaineHealth has 2,700 positions open across its network—many of which are entry-level—and Vice President of Talent Helene Kennedy says the pilot program will have a very positive impact on their recruitment efforts and ability to deliver patient care. “This program helps meet an immediate need and creates a future talent pipeline,” Kennedy says. “That’s unique, and we’re excited about that.”