LAKEWOOD, Wa. – Western State Hospital plans to hire nearly 200 people by mid-November to ease its chronic staffing shortage.
“We are looking for compassionate psychiatric professionals to join our team at Western State,” said hospital Chief Executive Officer Cheryl Strange. “These jobs provide the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives and I am committed to doing what it takes to find and keep people with compassion, heart and a strong work ethic. I know they are out there,” she said.
Western State is hiring registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, psychiatric security attendants, mental health technicians, psychiatric security nurses, psychiatric social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists.
The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), which operates the hospital through the Behavioral Health Administration, now has a website dedicated specifically to recruitment for Western State. DSHS will use the site, coupled with a strong social media campaign #WorkAtWestern to widen its recruiting reach. Information also will be updated on DSHS Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Increases in pay, reimbursements for continuing medical education and longevity pay for certain positions also should assist in the recruiting efforts, Strange said.
Additional staff will allow the hospital to provide safe, quality care that will address needs identified in a Systems Improvement Agreement between DSHS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.