Health Care Provider Workforce Development Initiative

To address the shortages and gaps in the Orange County health care provider workforce, CalOptima Health allocated $50 million over five years toward the Health Care Provider Workforce Development Initiative to increase opportunities for education, training, recruitment and retention of health professionals needed to serve our diverse members. The initiative includes:

Competitive Grant Programs: CalOptima Health will distribute two rounds of competitive grants. The first round will focus on providing funding for educational investments to increase the number of health care professionals. The second round will focus on innovative solutions for training, development, and retention of health care professionals.

Physician Recruitment and Loan Repayment Programs: CalOptima Health will also launch two physician recruitment and loan repayment programs. More information will be provided on the application process and timeline soon.

Stakeholder Collaborative: CalOptima Health will convene an Orange County Health Care Provider Workforce Development Collaborative. More information will be provided on how to participate in the collaborative soon.

To better support members experiencing mental health challenges, CalOptima Health’s Board of Directors has awarded $5.1 million in grant funding to increase the behavioral health workforce as part of our ongoing Provider Workforce Development Initiative.

“CalOptima Health’s commitment to investing in Orange County’s health care workforce continues with this funding focused on behavioral health,” said Michael Hunn, CEO of CalOptima Health. “These grants not only address the urgent need for more behavioral health professionals but also strengthen the community-based organizations working tirelessly to provide our diverse and growing Medi-Cal population with compassionate, high-quality care.”

Six organizations will receive funding to help address critical behavioral health workforce shortages by providing upskilling, training, and development opportunities to health professionals who serve Medi-Cal members in Orange County. These programs will aim to increase capacity in behavioral health care to improve access to essential behavioral health services over the next five years. The Grantees for this second round of funding are as follows:

Orange County-based institutions receiving grant awards in the first phase of funding are as follows: