Kendra Ratnapradipa, PhD, started as the new associate director of research for the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska on July 1.
A key focus for Dr. Ratnapradipa will be to oversee BHECN’s workforce analysis research and maintain the Nebraska Behavioral Health Workforce Dashboard. The dashboard is a BHECN tool that provides up-to-date data about the distribution of licensed behavioral health care professionals throughout the state. BHECN is a national leader in the collection and analysis of state-level behavioral health workforce data.
Dr. Ratnapradipa expressed excitement at using the dashboard’s data to help inform policies that improve behavioral health care in Nebraska.
“We are in the very fortunate position at BHECN where many providers around the state are eager to work with us and help us advance our research, as they know our work can help alleviate our shortage of behavioral health workers,” Dr. Ratnapradipa said.
Dr. Ratnapradipa takes over for Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, PhD, who had served as associate director of research since 2016.
“Dr. Watanabe-Galloway’s work at BHECN allowed her to become a national expert in the area of behavioral health workforce research,” said Dr. Ratnapradipa, who also is an assistant professor in the UNMC College of Public Health Department of Epidemiology. “I am excited to be able to build off the solid research foundation that she helped build here.”
Before she was a researcher, Dr. Ratnapradipa was a social worker. Her combined experience as a researcher and behavioral health worker make her a good fit to take over BHECN’s research, said Dr. Watanabe-Galloway, who will continue to serve as a senior consultant to BHECN along with her work as a professor and associate director of community outreach and engagement for the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
Those sentiments were echoed by BHECN Director Marley Doyle, MD.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Ratnapradipa leading our research efforts,” Dr. Doyle said. “Her experience and skills will allow her to build on the great work Dr. Watanabe-Galloway has done and help ensure our research becomes an even more powerful tool in the effort to improve our state’s behavioral health workforce.”