While many employers are struggling to fill positions post-pandemic, Eastern State Hospital also has several roles to fill. When the role for CEO needed filling in May 2020, Brandie French, MBA, LNHA stepped up to the plate and never looked back.
Eastern State Hospital has been providing care for those with mental illness since 1773. Within the last year, new CEO and hospital director, Brandie French, MBA, LNHA, along with the leadership team, have made it feel like a brand new place to work.
Like most places helping intricate patients with acute needs, the work can sometimes feel like a heavy load. French and the leadership team have made every effort to make the employees feel happy, valued, and secure in their workplace.
While the hospital continues to fill a wide variety of roles, from nurses and psychologists to public safety and security officers, French continues to make the workplace better for those that have been with the hospital for years.
By bringing in contract labor, increasing emergency response personnel, keeping the hospital at an almost 85% staffed ratio, and quickly planning to remove the overtime mandate in the near future, the employees have been able to focus on doing what they love, and that’s helping the patients.
“I love being a psychologist more than ever and I love being at a place that allows me to help those in need,” says Michael Kohn, Psy.D., Forensic Psychologist who has been with the hospital for 11 years.
Focusing on the patients allows the staff to feel truly rewarded in their work. Watching the patients graduate to working outside of the hospital and rebuilding their lives, is the ultimate gift in this business.
French recently invited several patients and staff into her office to help decorate for the holidays. After the decorating event, one of the current patients wrote a poem and painted an accompanying photo for French expressing gratitude for helping her (and other patients) feel “seen” and understood.
French displays these on her office wall as a daily reminder that she and her team are there for the patients and to help lead by example in carrying out the hospital’s mission and vision.
The new focus on community and commitment has made a world of difference in the day-to-day operations at the hospital. The staff look forward to coming to work every day and look forward to the relationship they build with their patients.
If you happen to be in need of a new job in healthcare services, psychology, or safety and security, visit the hospital’s website for an up-to-date list of employment opportunities.
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