NYC Health + Hospitals Announces Its Lowest Behavioral Health Staff Turnover and Vacancy Rates in Recent History

NYC Health + Hospitals Announces Its Lowest Behavioral Health Staff Turnover and Vacancy Rates in Recent History

NYC Health + Hospitals' behavioral health staff turnover rate dropped to 8%, far below the national average of 31%, and vacancy rate across behavioral health disciplines dropped to 6% systemwide below the national average of 14%

Since January 2024, the health care system has hired about 100 new psychiatrists, nearly 20 new psychiatric nurse practitioners, and more than 400 social workers

Today's announcement is a result of NYC Health + Hospitals' robust workforce strategy and commitment to addressing immediate staffing needs while building long-term sustainability

Jan 12, 2026

NYC Health + Hospitals today announced its lowest behavioral health staff turnover and vacancy rates in recent history following a suite of programs focused on recruitment, retention, training, and expanded career pathways. The health care system's behavioral health staff turnover rate is now at 8%, a significant drop from nearly 18% in 2022 and far below the national average of 31%. Additionally, vacancies across all behavioral health disciplines declined to 6%, below the national average of 14%. Since January 2024, the health care system has hired about 100 new psychiatrists, nearly 20 new psychiatric nurse practitioners, and more than 400 social workers. Vacancies for social workers fell from 12% in 2024 to 5% today. In addition, vacancies for psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychologists, and behavioral health associates each fell by over 50%.

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest provider of behavioral health care in New York City. The health care system provides over 60% of behavioral health services citywide, serving nearly 80,000 patients annually across emergency, inpatient, and outpatient care. Its behavioral health workforce comprises 5,700 employees.

"NYC Health + Hospitals is demonstrating what is possible within civil service systems by investing in people, aligning workforce strategy with operational needs, and advancing inclusive hiring and retention practice," said Omar Fattal, MD, MPH, Chief of Behavioral Health Services at NYC Health + Hospitals. "Our workforce strategy, including effective recruitment campaigns, addresses immediate staffing needs while building long-term sustainability, expanding capacity, and ensuring a resilient, well-supported workforce prepared for future challenges. NYC Health + Hospitals is gaining recognition as an employer of choice in public behavioral health. Applications are increasing, hiring timelines are shortening, and the system is drawing attention for its commitment to staff development and wellbeing."

NYC Health + Hospitals dramatically improved its recruitment and retention for behavioral health staff with several initiatives:

• Recruitment Campaigns: Over the past two years, NYC Health + Hospitals ran two recruitment campaigns for behavioral health staff that ran on buses, subways, digital, and tv. The social worker recruitment campaign, Social Workers Needed Here, led to nearly 55,000 clicks on digital platforms and received a Silver Award for Purpose-Led Campaign of the Year from Modern Healthcare and Ad Age. The 2025 PSYCH DOCS 4 NYC campaign to recruit psychiatrists and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners yielded over 75,000 clicks on the job applicant landing page.
• Creative Sourcing for an Inclusive Workforce: The health care system's Peer Academy and Psychiatric Social Health Technician Care Corps provide free training and internships to people with lived experience of mental health and substance use diagnoses. Nearly 70% of Peer Academy graduates are hired within 12 months or less, and 50% of Care Corps graduates secure employment within two months. Nearly 50% of the peer counselors at NYC Health + Hospitals are graduates from the Peer Academy.
• Behavioral Health Physician Assistant (PA) Pipeline: To address the gap in experience in psychiatry among new PAs, NYC Health + Hospitals created the Psychiatric Physician Assistant Fellowship with the New York State Office of Mental Health. This program provides hands-on training and helps develop experienced PAs who can mentor future clinicians.
• Service Commitments & Financial Incentives: Financial incentives have helped to stabilize and grow the behavioral health workforce at NYC Health + Hospitals. The BH4NYC Loan Repayment Program has awarded over $6 million to 200 clinicians in exchange for a three-year service commitment, supporting over 110,000 patient visits annually. In addition, the Social Work Clinical Licensure Training Program helps Licensed Master Social Workers attain their clinical licensure in exchange for a two-year commitment to the health care system, while the Behavioral Health Nursing Career Ladder provides staff with educational support and financial assistance to enroll in nursing school in exchange for a three-year commitment to NYC Health + Hospitals.
• Career Ladders and Professional Development: Educational programs for incumbent staff deliver contextualized training that enhances patient care while supporting provider growth and career mobility. Intensive training for Psychiatric Physician Assistants, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, and Social Workers sustains the workforce by boosting job satisfaction, reinforcing supervisory structures, and ensuring continuity of care with highly trained staff.

The gains that NYC Health + Hospitals has made in behavioral health workforce development offer a model for strengthening public service careers more broadly. This achievement is significant at a time when fewer people are staying in healthcare overall. In 2024, approximately 62 million U.S. adults (23% of all U.S. adults) had a mental illness and nearly half of them did not receive treatment (48%). Behavioral health services can be difficult to access due to a number of factors, including behavioral health provider shortages. The stakes are even higher for public healthcare systems, which face unique hurdles-like the cost of training compared to compensation, the burnout that drives people out of the field, and stiff competition from private systems or telehealth jobs that often offer more flexibility.

To apply for psychiatry jobs at NYC Health + Hospitals, visit: https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/psych-docs4nyc

To apply for other behavioral health jobs at NYC Health + Hospitals, visit: https://employment.nychhc.org

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About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city's five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system's trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlusHealth-all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.