Strategic Planning=New Jobs, New Services at TPC
Q. What do you get when you combine a needs-focused strategic plan, research into client needs and evaluation of the resources of an organization, the community and partnerships?
A. 23% growth with 256 new employees and 11 new programs created in the last two years.
The Providence Center’s recent growth has been fueled by a desire to address the state’s economic downturn coupled with an increasing demand for behavioral health services for Rhode Islanders in crisis as a result of unemployment, loss of housing and other stressors. The success of this growth is due to the TPC Advantage—a philosophy based on developing strategic, sustainable programming that is client-focused, rather than funding-dependent.
“Our growth is a reflection of our commitment to providing our clients with the tools they need to live productive, healthy lives,” said Dale K. Klatzker, Ph.D., president/CEO of The Providence Center. “By developing research-based programs that help move people with behavioral health problems towards recovery and providing them with the support they need at all levels of care—from an institutional and hospital level of care, to peer and community support—we are able to provide better care by implementing a better business model.”
By evaluating the needs of the people served and leveraging existing resources in order to build new, innovative service programs, The Providence Center hired 256 staff over two years and created 11 new programs including:
- RI’s first recovery community center at Anchor Recovery Community Center
- The first in-state integrated behavioral and primary care practice in partnership with Providence Community Health Centers
- RI’s first recovery high school, opening in September
- RESPECT, a program for uninsured Rhode Islanders seeking hospital levels of care
- Home Base program, which provides housing and integrated primary and behavioral health care to the chronically homeless
With more than
40 programs and a
23% growth in the last year, The Providence Center’s new hires fulfill a wide-variety of roles within the agency. Within the last three months, the organization welcomed:
- Two at the senior leadership level (Chief Strategy Officer and Director of the Recovery High School)
- Four program managers
- A variety of direct service providers including nurses, therapists, outreach workers, support specialists, exercise and nutrition specialists and case managers
- Administrative support, including an accountant, customer relations specialist, medical assistants and health information systems clerks
The rise in the number of hires follows a growth trend for The Providence Center based on an increase in the number of people who need services and a strategic plan that emphasizes innovative programs designed to cope with increased demand for behavioral health services.