EMC Health Foundation addresses Central Valley's behavioral-health needs with the creation of the Linda M. Stuhmer Behavioral Health Fellowship - PRNewswire

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TURLOCK, Calif., Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mental health services often are challenging to obtain, which is why the EMC Health Foundation has decided to launch a scholarship program designed to expand access to mental health services for residents of the 19 zip codes in Stanislaus and Merced counties the foundation serves.

The Linda M. Stuhmer Behavioral Health Fellowship was created to honor Linda Stuhmer, President and CEO of EMC Health Inc. Her contributions to the communities across the Central Valley have been significant, and her leadership with Jessica's House has helped ensure that grieving families and individuals have a place to call home.

Linda is being recognized for her commitment to ensuring that no one with a mental health challenge is ever left behind. The scholarship program will draw on the diversity and unique culture of the valley, which will be best served by future providers who are committed to being part of the community

"We have created the Linda M. Stuhmer Behavioral Health Fellowship program to begin building our mental health backbench," said Jeffrey Lewis, President and CEO of the EMC Health Foundation. "It is often difficult for people and families to access needed behavioral health services because of severe provider shortages. This fellowship program will allow us to educate local students who want to obtain their master's degree and stay and work in our community. In creating this program, we are honoring a healthcare hero, Linda Stuhmer, recognizing the incredible contributions she has made to our community. "

The scholarship will cover tuition and books for the two-year master's degree program, which today averages close to $50,000 for one of the degrees listed below. EMCHF will assist local students from within the 19 zip codes who have been accepted into one of three master's programs:

Clinical Social Work
Marriage and Family Therapy
Professional Clinical Counseling

Upon completing their studies, graduates will be required to return to work for three years at a nonprofit or for-profit entity, serving the greater EMC Health Foundation community's behavior-health needs (within the specific communities served by the EMC Health Foundation).

The goal is to rebuild the Central Valley's behavioral-health infrastructure with individuals who grew up in the region and would be more inclined to live and work in the Central Valley, ensuring that all its residents can access quality mental health services provided by culturally appropriate trained professionals.

To obtain more information about the fellowship program or to submit an application, please email [email protected]

About EMC Health Foundation
EMC Health Foundation was created to promote and expand care for people living within our community. EMC Health Foundation hopes to address their spiritual, physical, and psychosocial health. The foundation has a narrow geographical coverage area – every community south of Modesto in Stanislaus County (Turlock, Denair, Ceres, Crows Landing, Newman, Patterson, Hughson, Keyes, Wesley, Grayson, and West Modesto) and eight cities (Atwater, Ballico, Hilmar, Winton, Santa Nella, Stevinson, Gustine, Livingston, and Delhi) in Northern Merced County. The EMC Health Foundation is an organization that is defined and motivated by its values, those core beliefs that determine its character and behavior.